Small bones are supplied by

Periosteal arteries  These are especially numerous beneath the muscular and ligamentous attachments.  They ramify beneath the periosteum and enter the Volkmann's canals to supply the outer 1/3 of the cortex.  In miniature long bones, the infection begins in the middle of the shaft rather than at the metaphysis because, the nutrient artery  breaks up into a plexus immediately upon reaching the medullary  cavity. In the adults, however, the chances of infection are minimized because the nutrient artery is mostly replaced by the periosteal vessels. KEY CONCEPT: Short bones are supplied by numerous periosteal vessels which enter their nonarticular surfaces.