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Related Concept Videos

Bone Remodeling01:40

Bone Remodeling

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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.
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Aging and its effect on bone remodeling is the most common cause of bone disorders. In young and healthy people, bone deposition and resorption happen at an equal rate to maintain optimal bone health.
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Bone contains a relatively small number of cells entrenched in a matrix of collagen fibers that provide an adherent surface for inorganic salt crystals. Both components of the matrix, organic and inorganic, contribute to the unusual properties of bone. Without collagen, bones would be brittle and shatter easily. Without mineral crystals, bones would flex and provide little support. This can be observed by an experiment: when the minerals of a bone are dissolved by soaking the bone in...
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Osteoclasts are cells responsible for bone resorption and remodeling. They originate from hematopoietic progenitor cells present in the bone marrow. Numerous progenitor cells fuse to form multinucleated cells, each with 10-20 nuclei. A single osteoclast has a diameter of 150 to 200 µM. These cells have ruffled borders that break down the underlying bone tissue and release minerals such as calcium into the blood in bone resorption. Osteoclasts cling to bones with their ruffled edges during...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 3, 2025

Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
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Physicochemical Changes in Bone Bioapatite During the Late Postmortem Interval Pre- and Post-Burning.

Emese I Végh1, Nicholas Márquez-Grant2, Rick J Schulting1

  • 1Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, 6396University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK.

Applied Spectroscopy
|February 21, 2022
PubMed
Summary

Chemical changes in bone after death and burning can indicate the postmortem interval (PMI). Elements like potassium (K) survive burning and help determine if bones were cremated soon after death, aiding forensic and archaeological studies.

Keywords:
CremationFT-IRFourier transform infraredelectron microprobepotassiumtaphonomy

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Area of Science:

  • Forensic Anthropology
  • Archaeological Science
  • Bioarchaeology

Background:

  • Bone bioapatite undergoes chemical transformation postmortem.
  • Understanding these changes is crucial for reconstructing funerary practices and forensic investigations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the impact of a one-year postmortem interval (PMI) on unburnt and burnt bone alterations.
  • To assess the influence of burning on bone's structural and chemical properties.

Main Methods:

  • Pig tibiae were exposed and collected at various intervals (14-365 days) before burning.
  • Analysis included major/trace elements (electron microprobe) and molecular structures (FTIR spectroscopy).
  • Statistical analyses: regression, PCA, LDA, MANOVA.

Main Results:

  • Extracellular fluid elements (K, Na, Cl) change with PMI and survive burning.
  • Low K values (<0.07 wt%) in burnt bone suggest a PMI of weeks to months.
  • Ca, P, Fe, Al, Si, Sr are unaffected by burning; Fe, Al, Si, Sr are also unaffected by PMI.
  • Burning obscures unburnt bone changes like crystallinity increase and carbonate loss.
  • Carbonate to phosphate (C/P) and cyanamide to phosphate (CN/P) ratios distinguish burnt from unburnt bone.

Conclusions:

  • Potassium (K) levels in burnt bone can serve as an indicator for the postmortem interval (PMI) prior to cremation.
  • Structural ratios like C/P and CN/P are effective in differentiating burnt from unburnt bone samples.
  • Findings aid in the interpretation of archaeological and forensic contexts involving cremated remains.