Osteoblast (from the
Greek combining forms for "
bone", ὀστέο-,
osteo- and βλαστάνω,
blastanō "germinate") are
cells with single
nuclei that synthesize
bone. However, in the process of
bone formation, osteoblasts function in groups of connected cells. Individual cells cannot make bone, and the group of organized osteoblasts together with the bone made by a unit of cells is usually called the
osteon; the basis of this is discussed in "Organization and ultrastructure of osteoblasts" below.