[Editorial for the Journal of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery]

Overview

Bone remodeling is a continuous and balanced process of bone resorption by osteoclasts and bone formation by osteoblasts. In adults, it helps maintain bone mass and calcium homeostasis. While mechanical stress can stimulate turnover as part of the normal maintenance and reparative process, several hormones also regulate bone remodeling.

Within the skeletal system, the structure of a bone, or osseous tissue, can be exemplified in a long bone, like the femur, where there are two types of osseous tissue: cortical and cancellous.

Skeletal muscle is the most abundant type of muscle in the body. Tendons are the connective tissue that attaches skeletal muscle to bones. Skeletal muscles pull on tendons, which in turn pull on bones to carry out voluntary movements.