Question

Compare and contrast the structure and function of compact bone and spongy bone

Answer 1

Both the spongy bone and the compact bone are part of the skeletal system that makes up the long bones. Bones like the tibia and the fibula have a higher length to width ratio, as compared to the shorter bones (tarsal bones of the wrists and feet), flat bones, sesamoid bones (knee cap) and irregular bones (vertebrae).

Spongy bone	Compact bone
It is also known as the cancellous or trabecular bone.	It is also known as the cortical bone.
It is called as spongy because it contains porous and highly vascularized tissue. It is pinkish in colour	As opposed to the spongy tissue, the compact bone tissue is smooth, hard and heavy, and whitish in appearance.
It is made of cells called as osteoblasts, which create spaces between themselves called trabeculae. These bone tissues therefore have about 10 times the surface area of compact bone.	It is made of units called lamellae, which are sheets of parallel aligned collagen tissue that provides the bone its strength. It also has structures called havershian canalas, or osteons which receive oxygen and nutrients from the blood.
Spongy tissue makes up about 20% of a human skeleton	Compact tissue makes up about 80% of a human skeleton