Medullary cavity

The medullary cavity (medulla, innermost part) is the central cavity of bone shafts where red bone marrow and/or yellow bone marrow (adipose tissue) is stored; hence, the medullary cavity is also known as the marrow cavity. Located in the main shaft (cortical bone) of a long bone (diaphysis) (consisting mostly of compact bone), the medullary cavity has walls composed of spongy bone (cancellous bone) and is lined with a thin, vascular membrane (endosteum). However, the medullary cavity is the area inside any bone (long, flat, etc.) that holds the bone marrow.^[1] The clavicle is the only long bone that does not contain a medullary cavity.

This area is involved in the formation of red blood cells and white blood cells.

Intramedullary is a medical term meaning the inside of a bone. Examples include intramedullary rods used to treat bone fractures in orthopedic surgery and intramedullary tumors occurring in some forms of cancer or benign tumors such as an enchondroma.

See also

• Bone marrow

References

1. ^ Martini F., & Nath J. L. (2009). Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology 8e. San Francisco, CA: Pearson Education Inc.

External links

• "Medullary cavity" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary