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osteocyte

American  
[os-tee-uh-sahyt] / ˈɒs ti əˌsaɪt /

noun

Cell Biology.

  1. a cell of osseous tissue within the bone matrix; a bone cell.

osteocyte Scientific  
/ ŏs′tē-ə-sīt′ /

  1. A cell characteristic of mature bone tissue. It is derived from osteoblasts and embedded in the calcified matrix of bone. Osteocytes are found in small, round cavities called lacunae and have thin, cytoplasmic branches.

Etymology

Origin of osteocyte

First recorded in 1940–45; osteo- + -cyte

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Example Sentences

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Each osteocyte is located in a space called a lacuna and is surrounded by bone tissue.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.