bone
38.2 Bone Bone, or osseous tissue, is connective tissue that includes specialized cells, mineral salts, and collagen fibers. The human skeleton can be divided into long bones, short bones, flat bones, and irregular bones. Compact bone tissue is composed of osteons and forms the external layer of all bones. Spongy bone tissue is composed of trabeculae and forms the inner part of all bones. Four types of cells compose bony tissue: osteocytes, osteoclasts, osteoprogenitor cells, and osteoblasts. Ossification is the process of bone formation by osteoblasts. Intramembranous ossification is the process of bone development from fibrous membranes. Endochondral ossification is the process of bone development from hyaline cartilage. Long bones lengthen as chondrocytes divide and secrete hyaline cartilage. Osteoblasts replace cartilage with bone. Appositional growth is the increase in the diameter of bones by the addition of bone tissue at the surface of bones. Bone remodeling involves the processes of bone deposition by osteoblasts and bone resorption by osteoclasts. Bone repair occurs in four stages and can take several months.