osteon

noun

os·​te·​on ˈä-stē-ˌän 

plural osteons

: a cylindrical unit of bone consisting of a central Haversian canal surrounded by concentric layers of lamella (see lamella sense c) : haversian system

… osteons appear as concentric ring-like structures, with the newest tissue located at the center nearest to the blood vessel, and the oldest tissue located at the periphery of the osteon.

—Jayme Burket et al.

osteonal

ˌä-stē-ˈä-nᵊl  -ˈō- 

adjective

osteonal bone

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Greek ostéon "bone" — more at osseous

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

osteon

noun

os·​te·​on ˈäs-tē-ˌän 

variants also osteone

-ˌōn 

: a cylindrical unit of bone consisting of a central Haversian canal surrounded by concentric layers of lamella (see lamella sense 1a) : haversian system

Most current histological age estimating methods rely primarily upon the well-established increase in the number of osteons and their fragments … with age. It has also been shown that osteon size and osteon shape decrease and increase with age respectively.

—Jesse R. Goliath et al., Forensic Science International

osteonal

ˌäs-tē-ˈän-ᵊl  -ˈōn- 

adjective

osteonal bone

… a primary function of osteonal remodeling in the adult skeleton is reparative: remodeling serves to remove and replace fatigue-damaged regions of compact bone.

—Mitchell B. Schaffler, Musculoskeletal Fatigue and Stress Fractures