Difference between Compact and Trabecular Bone

Bones are specialised forms of connective tissues comprising cells and extracellular matrix.

There are different types of bones:

• Lamellated bones – Cancellous (also called trabecular or spongy bone), Compact
• Course fibered bones – formed at the time of bone-healing, seen in embryo
• Bundle bones – comprises Sharpey’s fibres

The traits of all the bones are a dense outer sheet of the compact bones and a medullary cavity (central). The cavity in living bones is filled with yellow or red bone marrow, which is specifically interrupted at the extremities of long bones by a mesh of bone trabeculae.

Compact bone

• It comprises closely packed osteons or Haversian systems. The osteons instead comprise an osteonic canal (central canal), wrapped by concentric rings of the matrix. It is between these rings that the osteocytes are seen in the lacunae
• Canaliculi (small channels) give out from the lacunae to the osteonic canal rendering a route through the stiff matrix
• The osteonic systems in these are densely packed, imparting its solid-mass like appearance
• These bones are denser compared to cancellous bones; their spaces are reduced in size

Trabecular bone

• These bones are also called spongy bones or cancellous bones and are porous, light wrapping several large spaces providing the characteristic spongy or honeycombed appearance
• The matrix of bone is arranged into a 3D latticework of bony processes, such as trabeculae organised through the lines of stress. The arrangement provides maximum strength, like the braces used in supporting a building
• Often, the spaces between are filled with blood vessels and marrow
• The canaliculi link to the adjacent cavities rather than a central Haversian canal receiving its blood supply
• These bones account for 20% of the human skeleton, rendering structural assistance and flexibility with no weight of the compact bone

Key Differences between Compact and Trabecular Bone

The table below depicts the differences between Compact bone and Trabecular bone.

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