Structural and Mechanical Repair of Diffuse Damage in Cortical Bone In Vivo

Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, Vol. 29, No. 12, December 2014, pp 2537–2544. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.2309.

The studies found that diffuse matrix damage regions in living cortical bone undergo a direct microstructural and mechanically effective repair. The direct repair of these submicron-size cracks in living bone occurs without activating the bone remodeling that are needed to remove larger, typical linear microcrack from bone. The mechanisms responsible for the direct repair of small crack damage in bone are currently under investigation, but given their position in the bone and extensive infiltration throughout the bone matrix, it seems likely that osteocytes play a central role in this direct repair process.