| [ Summary ] |
Living bone continually undergoes a remodeling processes, which allows for continuous fine tuning of the amount and special organization of the tissue in response to mechanical stress. It is believed that living bone has a special mechanism to change mechanical stimuli into biological stimuli. Extensive studies have determined that osteocytes are load sensitive cells. However, it has been difficult to examine their biological responses because osteocytes are embedded in hard bone tissue. In this review, the principle questions concerning osteocytes, such as what kind of stimuli activate osteocytes and whether they are truly are sensory cells, as well as which parts of the cells are significant in response to mechanical stimuli, are examined. |