Question

compare and contrast spongy and compact bone. how does their structure correlate with their function.

Answer 1

Comparison and differences between compact and spongy bone:

Feature	Compact bone	Spongy bone
Density	More dense (rigid) and hard	Lighter (porous) and soft
Location	Outer surface of bone	Found at head part of long bones
Other name	Cortical bone	Cancellous bones
Functional unit	Osteons/ Haversian systems	Trabeculae
Contributes	Outer layer of bones	Forms inner layer of bones
Type	Osseous tissue	Osseous tissue
Function	Provides strength to bone and protects the bone from stress conditions (prevents damage)	Holds bone marrow and hemopoietic stem cells, there by production of RBCs, WBCs, platelets
Colour	White	Pink

Both the types are made up of same matrix and cells, but organization is different.

Functions correlation with their structure:

Compact bone is more rigid and hard. So it helps to provide strength for bone, structural support to the body and it protects bone from damages.

On the other hand spongy bone is porous and lighter. It allows the ion exchange. As the cavities of spongy bone contain red bone marrow, the major function of spongy bone is the production and differentiation of blood cells like RBCs, WBCs and platelets.