Osteocytes are connected to each other by the tips of the cytoplasmic processes that extend through the canaliculi of bone. They pass nutrients, oxygen, hormones, and wastes from cell to cell through these processes, so not every osteocyte needs to be immediately adjacent to a blood supply.
Joint movement would be seriously compromised and painful because one bone would rub directly on another. This is likely to lead to bone erosion, growth of bone spurs, fusion of bones, and immobilization of the joints. The term symptom refers specifically to things that can only be felt subjectively by the person affected and not directly observed by another, so in the narrow sense the symptoms would be a sense of joint stiffness and pain.
In children, the diaphysis and epiphysis are joined by cartilage, and thus they can separate from each other along the epiphyseal plate when stress is applied to the bone. In adulthood, the two parts of the bone are united by osseous tissue and not as easily separated.
The predominant orientation of the trabeculae is not random, but tends to follow lines of stress, thus showing that the bone develops in a way that maximizes its stress resistance; its structure reflects its function.
Rickets, osteomalacia, and osteoporosis could be expected. UV radiation is needed for the epidermis to synthesize vitamin D (calcitriol), which is essential for bone deposition. If the skin were completely impervious to UV radiation, a person would suffer a calcitriol deficiency, reduced bone deposition, and the bone weakness that typifies these diseases.
