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Micro World

How small is a human osteocyte?

A human osteocyte is about 25 µm across.

What is measured: mature bone cell with processes, cell body diameter

Human Osteocyte (25 µm) drawn to scale beside a cloud droplet (20 µm) and a human hair (70 µm)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Cloud droplet (20 µm), Human Osteocyte (25 µm) and Human hair (70 µm).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • A little wider than a cloud droplet
  • About 2 would fit across a human hair
  • As wide as about 3 red blood cells side by side
  • About 4 would fit across a human egg cell
  • About 13× the length of an E. coli bacterium

Learn

Facts about Human Osteocyte

Osteocytes live inside tiny bone cavities called lacunae and connect to neighbors via long cytoplasmic processes.

Source: Histology Atlas: Bone Tissue; Molecular Biology of the Cell, Alberts et al.

Micro World

NameSizeCompared with Human Osteocyte
Human Dendritic Cell15 µm0.6×
HeLa Cell20 µm0.8×
Cellulose Fiber20 µm0.8×
Human Erythroblast20 µm0.8×
Human Goblet Cell20 µm0.8×
Thalassiosira Diatom20 µm0.8×
Human Hepatocyte25 µmsame size
Human Osteocyte25 µmthis page
Dandelion Pollen Grain35 µm1.4×
Taenia solium Egg35 µm1.4×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Human Osteocyte or HeLa Cell?

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