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The Role of Extracellular Fluid on the Electrical and Electromechanical Properties of Bone: A Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

Dennis A. Chakkalakal*
Affiliation:
VA Medical Center and University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
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Extract

The cells in living bone – osteocytes, osteoblasts and osteoclasts – are embedded in a porous material consisting of an organic-inorganic composite solid containing a distribution of fixed charges, permeated by ionic fluids flowing through a complex network of channels. In the weight-bearing long bones of the body, the largest of these channels are up to a few hundred microns in diameter and contain blood vessels which are connected to the blood supply in the central canal of the long bones. These channels establish fluid connectivity with the cells (osteocytes) responsible for maintenance of the bone tissue through small canals (canaliculi) with diameters ranging down to a tenth of a micron. Outside the blood vessels, perivascular fluid permeates these channels. The solid matrix is itself porous with a high degree of composite material organization beginning at the macromolecular level. The internal connectivity of the pore fraction of the solid, which is not as extensive as the network of channels, and the connectivity of this pore fraction with the fluid channels may affect physiological functions, through its influence on mechanical, electrical and electromechanical properties of the extracellular matrix. It seems apparent that the structure and physical properties of the extracellular material of bone will largely determine the physicochemical environment of the cells. Thus, a materials characterization of the extracellular matrix of living bone has become an essential part of the efforts to advance our knowledge of bone physiology and pathology. This paper is a review of the present state of knowledge of the electrical and electromechanical properties of this material with emphasis on studies that appear to have the most physiological significance.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1988

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