Having a lattice-like or spongy structure with small spaces; describing the porous inner part of bones.
From Latin cancellatus (made into a lattice) + -ous (adjective suffix). The term directly describes the crosshatched appearance of spongy bone tissue.
Cancellous bone is a brilliant evolutionary trade-off: it's 75% lighter than solid bone while being nearly as strong, making it the original lightweight engineering material.
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