“…Despite the ideal location of osteocytes to sense the local environment, their functions, and the relative importance of these functions, remain controversial. The multifactorial functions of osteocytes and the lacunocanalicular spaces in which they reside may include (1) mineral homeostasis [Aarden et al, 1994;Mullender et al, 1996b;Ehrlich et al, 2002;Parfi tt, 2003;Tazawa et al, 2004], (2) nutrient transport and signal transmission [Starkebaum, 1979;Kelly, 1983;Lanyon, 1993;Marotti, 2000;Yellowley et al, 2000;Alford et al, 2003;Mishra and Knothe Tate, 2003], (3) mechanosensation/mechanotransduction [Cowin et al, 1991;Duncan and Turner, 1995;Mosley and Lanyon, 1998;Burger and Klein-Nulend, 1999;Weinbaum et al, 2001;Rubinacci et al, 2002], (4) microdamage detection [Mori and Burr, 1993;Bentolila et al, 1998;Martin, 2000;Reilly, 2000;Vashishth et al, 2000;Noble et al, 2003], and (5) the control of processes that mediate some bone remodeling and modeling activities, as well as the attainment of bone mass [Carter, 1987;Butler, 1989;Mullender and Huiskes, 1995;Terai et al, 1999;Martin, 2000;Power et al, 2002;Vashishth et al, 2002;Burger et al, 2003]. These interrelated functions may be mediated by intercellular communication via gap junctions or cellular activation resulting from interstitial fl uid fl ow.…”