Definition of "hydroxyapatite" [hydroxyapatite]

• The principal bone salt, Ca5(PO4)3OH, which provides the compressional strength of vertebrate bone. (noun)

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.

• "Calcium phosphate is a major component of the mineral complex (called hydroxyapatite) that gives structure and strength to bones."
• "The scaffold is made from polycaprolactone, a biodegradable plastic, and hydroxyapatite, a naturally occurring mineral found in bone and teeth."
• "Metal pegs to you, but very special metal pegs, developed by a team from University College London, and coated with hydroxyapatite, which encourages bone cells to grow on to the metal."