An
osteocyte, a star-shaped type of
bone cell, is the most commonly found
cell in mature
bone tissue, and can live as long as the organism itself. The adult human body has about 42 billion osteocytes. Osteocytes have an average half life of 25 years, they do not divide, and they are derived from osteoprogenitors, some of which differentiate into active
osteoblasts. Osteoblasts/osteocytes develop in
mesenchyme.