Osteocytic Resorption

Studies on the biology of fish bone. III. Ultrastructure of osteogenesis and resorption in osteocytic (cellular) and anosteocytic (acellular) bones

“…Transition cells, such as the preosteocyte, have been reported in mammalian bone [49]. The preosteocytic cytoplasmic projections penetrated the matrix in the present study and are characteristic of osteocytes.…”

Quantitative study of tunneling and hook resorption in metabolic bone disease

“…The two schools of thought are that the osteocytes either merely move mineral into and out of bone [30,31], or they resorb and form tissue [23][24][25]29]. The extension of the latter proposal is to suppose that osteocytes are responsible for large intraosseous resorption cavities.…”

“…In recent years concepts about the mechanism of calcium homeostasis have been increasingly influenced by the proposal of Belanger et al [23][24][25] that osteocytes are an active agent, and by Talmage's idea [26,27] that the osteocyte-canalicular system is a bone pump for mineral. A good deal of attention has been paid to this possibility and Jowsey et al [28], Bordier and coworkers [16], and Meunier et al [29] have reported an increased number of enlarged osteocyte lacunae in hyperparathyroidism.…”

Molecular and cellular biology of alveolar bone

“…Although they are diminished in size, these cells have the full complement of organelles capable of effecting protein secretion (14,238), a feature perhaps reflected by the variable appearance of the perilacunar matrix frequently observed surrounding these cells (20,108,106). Although controversial (24,25,116,148,182), it is believed by some that the formative and/or resorptive activity of these cells may vary under certain metabolic requirements, resulting in the concept of ''osteocytic osteolysis'' (12,13,15,16,239). Finally, a major feature of osteocytes is the presence of numerous and extensive cell processes that ramify throughout the bone in canaliculi and make contact, frequently via gap junctions, with processes from other osteocytes or with similar processes extending from osteoblasts or bone-lining cells at the surface of the bone (180,181).…”