You are viewing here in cross section, so it appears in 2-dimensional view as a dark central opening with several concentric rings around it. The osteon is actually a long cylindrical structure. These osteocytes are entrapped in lacunae , produced when the matrix surrounding them was hardened. From each lacuna radiate thin canaliculi , tiny channels through the hard substance. The canaliculi are visible here as thin hair-like projections radiating from the lacunae.
Canaliculi are important.
They provide a route by which processes from one osteocyte can contact those of adjacent ones. It is impossible for materials to diffuse through the hardened bone matrix. Via the canalicular system, all osteocytes are potentially in communication with one another. The lamellae are separate layers. Each layer has collagen fibers laid in precise array, at right angles to the layer inboard and outboard.