Endosteum

Author: Edwin Ocran, MBChB, MSc • Reviewer: Declan Tempany, BSc (Hons)
Last reviewed: October 30, 2023
Reading time: 2 minutes

The endosteum refers to a layer of connective tissue that line the inner surfaces of bones including both the medullary (marrow) cavity of compact bone and the thin spicules or trabeculae of cancellous (spongy) bone. The inner surfaces of the central (or Haversian) canals of osteons within compact bone are also lined with endosteum, which is referred to as osteonal endosteum.

The endosteum is a primarily composed of single cell layer ofbone-lining cells and osteoblasts. In regions of active bone resorption, osteoclasts can also be present in the endosteum.

The endosteum forms the deepest layer of the inner circumferential lamellae within compact bone. Upon stimulation, bone-lining cells (which are flat quiescent osteoblasts) transform into large, active osteoblats which synthesize a fresh layer of osteoid (unmineralized bone matrix). Following mineralisation, this layer transforms into a new layer of inner circumferential lamella. A similar process occurs with endosteum that envelops the trabeculae of cancellous bone leading to the deposition of new osteoid.

Terminology	English: Endosteum Latin: Endosteum
Structure	Single cell layer of osteoprogenitor cells, osteoblasts, osteoclasts
Function	Bone growth, remodeling, and repair.

Sources

All content published on Kenhub is reviewed by medical and anatomy experts. The information we provide is grounded on academic literature and peer-reviewed research. Kenhub does not provide medical advice. You can learn more about our content creation and review standards by reading our content quality guidelines.

McKinley, M. & Loughlin, V. (2012). Human anatomy. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mescher, A. L., & Junqueira, L. C. (2013). Junqueira's basic histology: Text & atlas. McGraw-Hill Medical.
Ross, M. H., & Pawlina, W. (2011). Histology : a text and atlas : with correlated cell and molecular biology (6th ed.). Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Health
Young, B., O'Dowd, G., & Woodford, P. (2014). Wheater's functional histology: A text and colour atlas. Churchill Livingston/Elsevier.

Endosteum: want to learn more about it?

Our engaging videos, interactive quizzes, in-depth articles and HD atlas are here to get you top results faster.

What do you prefer to learn with?

Videos Quizzes Both

“I would honestly say that Kenhub cut my study time in half.” – Read more.

Kim Bengochea, Regis University, Denver

Endosteum

Sources

Learning anatomy isn't impossible. We're here to help.

Want access to this video?

Want access to this quiz?

Want access to this gallery?

Learning anatomy isn't impossible.
We're here to help.