STRUCTURE OF BONE. 461 



XXX. THE STRUCTURE AND ECONOMY OF 

 BONE. 



A TEXTURE may be considered either by itself, or in con- 

 nection with the parts which usually accompany it. These 

 subsidiary parts may be entirely removed without interfering 

 with the anatomical constitution of the texture. It is essenti- 

 ally non-vascular, neither vessels nor nerves entering into its 

 intimate structure. It possesses in itself those powers by 

 which it is nourished, produces its kind, and performs the 

 actions for which it is destined, the subsidiary or superadded 

 parts supplying it with materials which it appropriates by its 

 own inherent powers, or connecting it in sympathetic and 

 harmonious action with other parts of the organism to which 

 it belongs. 



In none of the textures are these characters more 

 distinctly seen than in the osseous. A well-macerated bone 

 is one of the most easily made, and, at the same time, one of 

 the most curious anatomical preparations. It is a perfect 

 example of a texture completely isolated, the vessels, nerves, 

 membranes, and fat, are all separated, and nothing is left but 

 the non-vascular osseous substance. 



The osseous texture of a fresh bone, considered in this 

 way, consists of two parts, a hard and a soft. The hard part, 

 composed of earthy salts, deposited in a cartilaginous matrix, 

 has already been carefully examined by anatomists. The 

 soft has not yet attracted attention, in consequence of the 

 manner in which it is isolated, divided into small portions, 

 and concealed in the cavities of the osseous corpuscles. 



