mature osteocyte

Most of the receptor activities that play an important role in bone function are present in the mature osteocyte.

A mature osteocyte contains a single nucleus that is located toward the vascular side and has one or two nucleoli and a membrane.

The transformation from motile osteoblast to entraped osteocyte takes about three days, and during this time, the cell produces a volume of extracellular matrix three times its own cellular volume, which results in 70% volume reduction in the mature osteocyte cell body compared to the original osteoblast volume.