ISSN:
1432-0878
Keywords:
Key words Osteoclast
;
Bone
;
Bone resorption
;
Alveolar bone
;
Rat (Wistar)
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract Glutaraldehyde-formaldehyde fixed undecalcified alveolar bone from 7-day-old rats was prepared for light and electron microscopy. Colloidal lanthanum was used as an ultrastructural tracer, and both random and semi-serial sections were examined. Lanthanum penetrated the infoldings of the ruffled border and some nearby vacuoles and vesicles. The majority of vacuoles and vesicles were lanthanum-free. Some osteoclast profiles contained a large vacuole with a cell enclosed in its interior. The enclosed cell exhibited an irregular nucleus containing condensed peripheral chromatin, intact cytoplasmic organelles, conspicuous rough endoplasmic reticulum and large blebs on the cell surface. These features are characteristic of osteoblasts or bone-lining cells or immature osteocytes which may be undergoing apoptosis or necrosis. The observation of remnants of cellular structures within internalized osteoclast vacuoles, together with the above results, suggests that osteoclasts engulf and probably degrade dying osteoblasts/bone-lining cells or immature osteocytes.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s004410051109
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