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BONES. — 37
amount of solid matter deposited in it. In other words, where the
spaces are small and contracted the solid matter is abundant ; in the
spongy portions, the spaces being large, the solid matter is proportion-
ately less. It will also be observed that there is no line of demarcation
between the outer and inner structure, the compact gradually expanding
into the cancellated portion.
The color of bone depends upon the condition in which it is when
examined ; if fresh, it will be of a yellowish hue, due to the contained
lymph and the fatty medulla. The blue shade so frequently seen is due
in a great measure to the mode of death. If the subject from which
the bone is taken died from drowning, suifocation, or any kindred cause,
a bluish tinge would be imparted to the bone. The redness of fresh
bone is dependent upon its vascularity ; therefore some bones will be
redder than others, and the bones of young healthy jjersons more so than
those of the aged, whose osseous tissues contain a relatively greater
amount of inorganic matter.
Bones which have been cleaned, first by maceration in water, then in
ether, become white, the cartilaginous material, the blood, fat, and mem-
branes having been removed. By this process bones become extremely
porous by reason of the removal of the contents of the innumerable
small openings for blood-vessels which are found scattered over their
surface.
After exposure for a long time to the atmosphere, bones undergo
exfoliation and split into laminae, thus demonstrating that osseous tissue
is heterogeneous and not homogeneous in its formation.
The weight of bones varies in direct proportion to their compactness
of structure. Their chemical analysis yields, on an average
Calcium carbonate 7.05
Magnesium phosphate 2.08
Calcium phosphate 58.39
Calcium fluoride 2.25
,
Organic matter 30.23
100.00
It is seldom that the analytical chemists will produce exactly the
same results in their respective analyses of different bones, as it would
be difficult to find two bones identical in structure and composition.
There are many reasons for this, among which age may be mentioned
as a prominent factor. During youth bone is principally made up of
organic matter, but as life advances there is assimilated continually more
inorganic material, part of the organic matter being lost. Disease may
also influence the proportional quantity of the inorganic constituents,
and, as might be expected, bones taken from different parts of the body
will be dissimilar in composition, as they are designed for different
functions.
If bone be placed in a solution consisting of one part of hydrochloric
acid to sixteen parts of water, the fluid being changed each day, the
inorganic matter will be dissolved out, leaving the organic material,
which is held together by its connective tissue, in its original shape,
these remaining parts being quite soft and flexible. Thus treated, a
amount of solid matter deposited in it. In other words, where the
spaces are small and contracted the solid matter is abundant ; in the
spongy portions, the spaces being large, the solid matter is proportion-
ately less. It will also be observed that there is no line of demarcation
between the outer and inner structure, the compact gradually expanding
into the cancellated portion.
The color of bone depends upon the condition in which it is when
examined ; if fresh, it will be of a yellowish hue, due to the contained
lymph and the fatty medulla. The blue shade so frequently seen is due
in a great measure to the mode of death. If the subject from which
the bone is taken died from drowning, suifocation, or any kindred cause,
a bluish tinge would be imparted to the bone. The redness of fresh
bone is dependent upon its vascularity ; therefore some bones will be
redder than others, and the bones of young healthy jjersons more so than
those of the aged, whose osseous tissues contain a relatively greater
amount of inorganic matter.
Bones which have been cleaned, first by maceration in water, then in
ether, become white, the cartilaginous material, the blood, fat, and mem-
branes having been removed. By this process bones become extremely
porous by reason of the removal of the contents of the innumerable
small openings for blood-vessels which are found scattered over their
surface.
After exposure for a long time to the atmosphere, bones undergo
exfoliation and split into laminae, thus demonstrating that osseous tissue
is heterogeneous and not homogeneous in its formation.
The weight of bones varies in direct proportion to their compactness
of structure. Their chemical analysis yields, on an average
Calcium carbonate 7.05
Magnesium phosphate 2.08
Calcium phosphate 58.39
Calcium fluoride 2.25
,
Organic matter 30.23
100.00
It is seldom that the analytical chemists will produce exactly the
same results in their respective analyses of different bones, as it would
be difficult to find two bones identical in structure and composition.
There are many reasons for this, among which age may be mentioned
as a prominent factor. During youth bone is principally made up of
organic matter, but as life advances there is assimilated continually more
inorganic material, part of the organic matter being lost. Disease may
also influence the proportional quantity of the inorganic constituents,
and, as might be expected, bones taken from different parts of the body
will be dissimilar in composition, as they are designed for different
functions.
If bone be placed in a solution consisting of one part of hydrochloric
acid to sixteen parts of water, the fluid being changed each day, the
inorganic matter will be dissolved out, leaving the organic material,
which is held together by its connective tissue, in its original shape,
these remaining parts being quite soft and flexible. Thus treated, a
