Definition of "cancellous" [can•cel•lous]

• Anatomy Having an open, latticed, or porous structure. Used especially of bone. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Hence this is called cancellous tissue, and the gradual transition from one to the other is apparent."
• "Mammalian Spongy Bone - Spongy bone, also known as cancellous bone, is less dense than compact bone and is composed of a honeycomb-like network of bones called trabeculae."
• "Without the cancellous bone our bones would be very brittle."