Haversian, << huh VUR shuhn, >> canals are tiny channels within compact bone tissue, the hard, outer layers of bone. Each canal contains blood vessels, lymph (tissue fluid) vessels, connective tissue, and nerves. The blood vessels carry nourishment from larger vessels in the periosteum (membrane covering the bone) to the bone tissue. Layers of bone tissue surround each canal to form a cylinder. A canal and its bone tissue are called an osteon or Haversian system. Osteons are the basic structures that make up compact bone. Haversian canals were first described by Clopton Havers, an English anatomist, in the late 1600’s.
