Slide 23. Bone tissue, diaphysis of a bone, Schmorl staining
Covers a cross-section of a long bone shaft showing compact lamellar bone, stained with Schmorl's method so that lacunae and their canaliculi appear dark brown to black. It walks through how to recognise osteons with their central canals, the spider-like lacunae, interstitial and circumferential lamellae, and Volkmann's canals. It also distinguishes this from spongy bone and points back to the theory topics on bone tissue.
Inside: 1 section · 1 min
Topic 112 of 127 in the MU Sofia syllabus for Cytology (Dental Medicine, Year 1). The free AceMed note covers it in 1 section, about 110 words (1 min of reading).
In this note
Introduction
Introduction
A cross-section of the shaft of a long bone shows compact (lamellar) bone.
Stain
Schmorl's stain (thionin and picric acid) shows the lacunae and their fine canaliculi in dark brown to black.
How to recognise it
Osteons (Haversian systems): rings of concentric lamellae around a central (Haversian) canal.
Dark, spider-like lacunae between the lamellae, linked by thin canaliculi that run towards the canal.
Interstitial lamellae filling the gaps between osteons.
Circumferential lamellae under the periosteum and along the marrow cavity.
Volkmann's canals running across the osteons, connecting the central canals.
Don't confuse it with: spongy bone, which has trabeculae and marrow spaces instead of osteons.
Theory: topics 49–50 (bone tissue).
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