COMPACT BONE
Compact bone is the heaviest, hardest type of bone. It is very strong as it supports your body and muscles as you walk, run, and move throughout the day. About 80% of the bone in your body is compact. It makes up the outer layer of the bone and also helps protect the more fragile layers inside.
Compact bone is made of special cells called osteocytes. These cells are lined up in rings around the canals. Together, a canal and the osteocytes that surround it are called osteons. Osteons are like thick tubes all going the same direction inside the bone, similar to a bundle of straws with blood vessels, veins, and nerves in the center.
SPONGY BONE
Spongy bone is found mostly at the ends of bones and joints. About 20% of the bone in your body is spongy. Unlike compact bone that is mostly solid, spongy bone is full of open sections called pores. If you were to look at it in under a microscope, it would look a lot like your kitchen sponge. Pores are filled with marrow, nerves, and blood vessels that carry cells and nutrients in and out of the bone.
BONE MARROW
The inside of your bones are filled with a soft tissue called marrow. There are two types of bone marrow: red and yellow. Red bone marrow is where all new red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are made. Platelets are small pieces of cells that help you stop bleeding when you get a cut. Red bone marrow is found in the center of flat bones such as your shoulder blades and ribs. Yellow marrow is made mostly of fat and is found in the hollow centers of long bones, such as the thigh bones. It does not make blood cells or platelets. Both yellow and red bone marrow have many small and large blood vessels and veins running through them to let nutrients and waste in and out of the bone.