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According to the wiki,

> Shikotsumyaku (屍骨脈; Literally meaning "Dead Bone Pulse", Meaning (Viz)
> "Corpse Bone Chain") is the kekkei genkai of the extinct Kaguya clan, which
> gave them the ability to manipulate their own skeletal structure (their
> osteoblasts and osteoclasts). By infusing their calcium with chakra, they
> could manipulate the growth and properties of their bones to their liking.

Now, surely that means that they're working with the base amount of calcium
(and other minerals) in their body. The fact that they're able to grow their
own bones seems to indicate that they are able to get the calcium (and other
minerals) out of their nearby surrounding in some manner. Is this corroborated
in the manga?

The last part is just my own speculation. Please do correct me if an alternate
explanation exists.


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naruto
How does Kimimaro's Kekkei Genkai work?


Kimimoro's Kekkai Genkai isn't like Gaara's sand. Gaara's sand can go
underground, smash the rocks, and use the hardened minerals from the local
rocks and incorporate them into his sand. Kimimoro doesn't seem to do this at
all, but rather his bones and chakra system is all internal.

I think this is evidenced not by what he does but by what he doesn't do. In
his battle with Gaara which is clearly his most pressing battle (since he dies
in it) he transforms multiple times, he uses his spine whip, and does a number
of other jitsu but never absorbs from his exterior surrounds while Gaara
clearly does.


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2013-01-23T16:26:37.683
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According to what is said [here](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Shikotsumyaku),
those who posses the Shikotsumyaku are able to create bones by manipulating

> their own skeletal structure (their
> [osteoblasts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteoblast) and
> [osteoclasts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteoclast)). By infusing their
> calcium with chakra, they could manipulate the growth and properties of
> their bones to their liking.

From what I can gather (given that I am not an orthopedist, and have no
knowledge in this field) osteoclasts and osteoblasts are instrumental in
controlling the amount of bone tissue: osteoblasts form bone, osteoclasts
[resorb bone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_resorption) (meaning they
break down bone and release their minerals, which results in a transfer of
calcium from bone fluid to the blood).

I think this part would explain how he is able to create bones in itself.  
However, after reading the first comment you left in [Curtis Sumpter's
answer](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/2108/49) ([ _Fair enough. But the
human body just doesn't have enough calcium for his
jutsus._](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/2108/how-does-kimimaros-
kekkei-genkai-work#comment1291_2137)), I've tried to understand how calcium is
regulated in the human body. I came to the conclusion that [parathyroid
hormone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parathyroid_hormone) and
[calcitonin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcitonin) are the hormones that
regulate the calcium levels in the body, the former acting to increase the
concentration of calcium in the blood and the latter to decrease it. Perhaps
he had some type of deficiency in the way he [metabolised
calcium](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_metabolism), which could have
lead to
[hypercalcaemia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercalcemia#Signs_and_symptoms).
Some of the symptoms seem to match Kimimaro's, namely fatigue, abnormal heart
rate, vomiting (he coughed blood, I'm not sure if it counts in the same
way...) and he ended up dying of cardiac arrest. If this were the case, the
fact that he is able to manipulate osteoclasts and osteoblasts may be a result
of his abnormally high levels of calcium in the first place. This could also
be the reason for it to be such a rare Kekkei Genkai, even among members of
the Kaguya clan. It could be something like a [Potential Bloodline or a
Genetic Advantage](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/306/49) (or disadvantage,
since he ended up dying of it, if this speculation is correct).  
As far as real-world actual explanations go, with my limited level of
knowledge, this is as far as I can go (and still, an orthopedist may look at
my explanation and find it a lot of humbug).

On the other hand, the explanation provided in the Wiki also says that, aside
from manipulating the osteoclasts and osteoblasts, they infuse their calcium
with chakra. So this completely ruins real-world actual explanations, since it
introduces a completely different (and actually nonexistent, AFAIK)
circulatory system. This means two things: _firstly_ , it introduces a new
variable, that potentially renders all of my above possibilities moot; _and
secondly_ , that the infusion of chakra into calcium could actually modify its
properties somehow (this is actually contained in the first thing, but
nevermind...). This last paragraph could actually mean something like: don't
overthink it, it's just a cartoon... :D


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