An osteoblast that has become embedded in the bone matrix, occupying a flat oval cavity (bone lacuna) and sending, through the canaliculi, slender cytoplasmic processes that make contact with processes of other osteocytes.

Osteoblasts incorporated into bone.

Cell found within the bone; its function is to help maintain the structural integrity of bone. [See: Fluoride & Osteocytes

Bone cells that lay down new bone; found in the concentric layers of compact bone. Bone cell, a type of connective tissue. PICTURE

Osteoblasts that have completed their bone-forming function and have become trapped in new bone tissue, evolving into structural bone cells (see Osteoporosis).