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Human A&P BIO 304 · American River College ← Course home (Week 3)

BIO 304 . WEEK 3 . MONDAY . LAB WORKBOOK

Bone Tissue and Bone Growth

From bone cells to whole bones: how the skeleton is built and remodeled.

Print this page. You will draw your own diagrams from the directions below, then hand-label the structures listed. Drawing by hand is the integrity mechanism for this course.

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Part 1 of 2

Anatomy Lab

1A. What you will draw

Bone is dynamic: it is built, broken down, and remodeled throughout life by specific cell types. Today you'll draw a long bone in gross anatomy, then zoom in to a single osteon.

Box A. Long bone gross anatomy

Directions

  1. Draw a long bone (e.g., humerus) in side view, with bulged ends and a slim middle.
  2. Label diaphysis (shaft), epiphysis (each rounded end), metaphysis (region between).
  3. Show the epiphyseal plate (growth plate) as a thin horizontal line within each metaphysis, present in a growing bone.
  4. Inside the diaphysis, show the medullary cavity (hollow center). Label.
  5. Show compact bone (dense outer wall) and spongy bone (trabecular meshwork inside the epiphyses). Label.
  6. Wrap the outside of the diaphysis with the periosteum (thin membrane). Wrap the inside with the endosteum. Label.
  7. Add articular cartilage at the very tips of the epiphyses. Label.

Box B. Osteon (Haversian system) close-up

Directions

  1. Draw a large circle representing one osteon in cross-section.
  2. Inside, draw concentric rings (concentric lamellae) around a small central circle.
  3. Label the central canal (Haversian canal) in the center; it carries a blood vessel and nerve.
  4. Between the lamellae, draw small lens-shaped spaces (lacunae) containing osteocytes (label).
  5. Connect lacunae with thin lines (canaliculi). Label.
  6. Beside the osteon, draw a perforating canal (Volkmann's canal) connecting central canals laterally. Label.

1C. Structures to label (17)

After you finish each drawing, label every structure below directly on your sketch.

  1. Diaphysis
  2. Epiphysis
  3. Metaphysis
  4. Epiphyseal plate
  5. Medullary cavity
  6. Compact bone
  7. Spongy bone
  8. Periosteum
  9. Endosteum
  10. Articular cartilage
  11. Osteon
  12. Concentric lamellae
  13. Central canal
  14. Osteocyte
  15. Lacuna
  16. Canaliculus
  17. Volkmann's canal

Part 2 of 2

Physiology Lab

2A. Match the cell to its action

Bone has four key cell types. For each action below, name the cell responsible AND state whether the action builds, breaks down, or maintains bone.

1. Lays down new bone matrix.
2. Resorbs old bone, releasing calcium into the blood.
3. Maintains bone tissue from within a lacuna, sensing mechanical stress.
4. Differentiates into new bone-building cells when bone is injured.
5. Increases activity in response to parathyroid hormone, raising blood calcium.
6. Decreases activity in response to calcitonin, allowing blood calcium to fall.

2B. Synthesis questions

Answer each in 2 to 4 sentences. Use the language from this week's lecture and your drawings as evidence.

1. A teenager fractures the epiphyseal plate of the femur. Predict the long-term consequence and explain the mechanism behind it.
2. An elderly patient with osteoporosis has lost bone mass over decades. Identify which cell types are over- or under-active in osteoporosis, and explain why bisphosphonate drugs work by targeting one of them.
3. Blood calcium is tightly regulated around 10 mg/dL. Sketch a brief feedback loop showing what happens when blood calcium DROPS: which hormone is released, which cell type it activates, and how blood calcium returns to setpoint.

3. What to submit

Complete both the Anatomy Lab (your own drawings, hand-labeled, plus the structures list) and the Physiology Lab (activity and synthesis questions). Photograph or scan every page and upload to Canvas before the deadline listed on the schedule. Hand-drawn, hand-labeled work is the integrity mechanism for this course. Typed or AI-generated diagrams are not accepted.