Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Scanning Electron Microscopy Of The Osteoclast-Bone Interface In Vivo, H. Zhou, R. Chernecky, J. E. Davies

Cells and Materials

Rat femoral bones were studied by scanning electron microscopy to demonstrate the morphology of osteoclast- bone matrix interfacial relationships. Two general morphological types of actively resorbing osteoclasts were observed . One cell type was approximately ovoid with highly fimbriated borders, fully attached and closely adapted to the resorption surface. The ruffled border of such cells was composed of a number of individual filopodia which were of uniform , regular shape and approximately 2-3 μm in length and 150 nm in diameter. They were found to penetrate the bone matrix to a depth of 1 μm and interdigitated with the surrounding …