Nutrient canal | |
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![]() The blood supply to long bones, here with nutrient artery, vein and foramen labeled. | |
![]() A nutrient canal feeding the femur seen on X-ray | |
Identifiers | |
TA98 | A02.0.00.042 |
TA2 | 402 |
FMA | 75378 |
Anatomical terminology |
All bones possess larger or smaller foramina (openings) for the entrance of blood-vessels; these are known as the nutrient foramina, and are particularly large in the shafts of the larger long bones, where they lead into a nutrient canal, which extends into the medullary cavity. The nutrient canal (foramen) is directed away from the growing end of bone. The growing ends of bones in upper limb are upper end of humerus and lower ends of radius and ulna. In lower limb, the lower end of femur and upper end of tibia are the growing ends. [1] The nutrient arteries along with nutrient veins pass through this canal. A nutrient canal is found in long bones, in the mandible,[ citation needed ] and in dental alveoli. [2] In long bones the nutrient canal is found in the shaft.
The humerus is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extremity consists of a rounded head, a narrow neck, and two short processes. The body is cylindrical in its upper portion, and more prismatic below. The lower extremity consists of 2 epicondyles, 2 processes, and 3 fossae. As well as its true anatomical neck, the constriction below the greater and lesser tubercles of the humerus is referred to as its surgical neck due to its tendency to fracture, thus often becoming the focus of surgeons.
The sacrum, in human anatomy, is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine that forms by the fusing of the sacral vertebrae (S1–S5) between ages 18 and 30.
The tibia, also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates ; it connects the knee with the ankle. The tibia is found on the medial side of the leg next to the fibula and closer to the median plane. The tibia is connected to the fibula by the interosseous membrane of leg, forming a type of fibrous joint called a syndesmosis with very little movement. The tibia is named for the flute tibia. It is the second largest bone in the human body, after the femur. The leg bones are the strongest long bones as they support the rest of the body.
In anatomy, the palatine bones are two irregular bones of the facial skeleton in many animal species, located above the uvula in the throat. Together with the maxillae, they comprise the hard palate.
The radius or radial bone is one of the two large bones of the forearm, the other being the ulna. It extends from the lateral side of the elbow to the thumb side of the wrist and runs parallel to the ulna. The ulna is usually slightly longer than the radius, but the radius is thicker. Therefore the radius is considered to be the larger of the two. It is a long bone, prism-shaped and slightly curved longitudinally.
The obturator foramen is the large opening created by the ischium and pubis bones of the pelvis through which nerves and blood vessels pass.
The perpendicular plate of the ethmoid bone is a thin, flattened lamina, polygonal in form, which descends from the under surface of the cribriform plate, and assists in forming the septum of the nose; it is generally deflected a little to one or other side. The anterior border articulates with the spine of the frontal bone and the crest of the nasal bones.
The vertebral vein is formed in the suboccipital triangle, from numerous small tributaries which spring from the internal vertebral venous plexuses and issue from the vertebral canal above the posterior arch of the atlas.
The optic foramen is the opening to the optic canal. The canal is located in the sphenoid bone; it is bounded medially by the body of the sphenoid and laterally by the lesser wing of the sphenoid.
The body of femur is the almost cylindrical, long part of the femur. It is a little broader above than in the center, broadest and somewhat flattened from before backward below. It is slightly arched, so as to be convex in front, and concave behind, where it is strengthened by a prominent longitudinal ridge, the linea aspera.
The posterior superior alveolar nerves arise from the trunk of the maxillary nerve just before it enters the infraorbital groove; they are generally two in number, but sometimes arise by a single trunk.
The zygomatico-orbital foramina are two canals in the skull, that allow nerves to pass through. The orifices are seen on the orbital process of the zygomatic bone.
The horizontal plate of palatine bone is a quadrilateral part of the palatine bone, and has two surfaces and four borders.
The nutrient artery, usually accompanied by one or two nutrient veins, enters the bone through the nutrient foramen, runs obliquely through the cortex, sends branches upward and downward to the bone marrow, which ramify in the endosteum–the vascular membrane lining the medullary cavity–and give twigs to the adjoining canals. Nutrient arteries are the most apparent blood vessels of the bones.
The femoral neck is a flattened pyramidal process of bone, connecting the femoral head with the femoral shaft, and forming with the latter a wide angle opening medialward.
The lumbar enlargement is a widened area of the spinal cord that gives attachment to the nerves which supply the lower limbs.
The cervical enlargement corresponds with the attachments of the large nerves which supply the upper limbs.
The basivertebral veins are veins within the vertebral column. They are contained in large, tortuous channels in the substance of the bones, similar in every respect to those found in the diploë of the cranial bones.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to human anatomy:
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae, each constituting a characteristic irregular bone whose complex structure is composed primarily of bone, and secondarily of hyaline cartilage. They show variation in the proportion contributed by these two tissue types; such variations correlate on one hand with the cerebral/caudal rank, and on the other with phylogenetic differences among the vertebrate taxa.
This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)This article incorporates text from a public domain edition of Sobotta's Anatomy.