Osteoclasts are large multi nucleated cells. They are found in pits of the bone surface. They have many vesicles and vacuoles leading to a "foamy" cytoplasm. They also have lysosomes filled with acid phosphatase.
Osteoclasts' primary function is to breakdown bone tissue that is required for repair, maintenance and remodeling of bones. They digest the bone by secreting collagenase and acid in a process called as bone resorption. Bone resportion as a pathological response is called as osteolysis. It can be caused by inflammation, tumor and cyst.
In 1864, while working at Glasgow University as Professor of Surgery, Lister was introduced to Pasteur's germ theory of disease, and he decided to apply it to the problem of surgical infections
