The hard outer layer of bones is composed of cortical bone also called compact bone. Cortical referring to the outer (cortex) layer. The hard outer layer gives bone its smooth, white, and solid appearance, and accounts for 80 % of the total bone mass of an adult human skeleton. Cortical bone consists of multiple microscopic columns, each called an osteon. Each column is multiple layers of osteoblasts and osteocytes around a central canal called the haversian canal. Volkmann 's canals at right angles connect the osteons together. The columns are metabolically active, and as bone is reabsorbed and created the nature and location of the cells within the osteon will change. Cortical bone is covered by a periosteum on its outer surface, and an endosteum on its inner surface. The endosteum is the boundary between the cortical bone and the cancellous bone.
what is the dense bone on the outside surfaces of a skeletal element called
cortical bone Cortical bone Cortical bone cortical bone