Compact bone, light micrograph. Bone is a dense matrix of calcium minerals and collagen, formed by cells called osteoblasts. Compact bone consists of concentric layers of collagen-containing matrix (lamellae), around Haversian canals (seen here in cross-section). The lamellae and canals together form a Haversian system, or osteon. This sample of bone has been prepared using the Bodian staining technique, highlighting the canaliculi, microscopic canals between the lacunae (small black dots) that contain the osteocytes, the cells which maintain the bony matrix.