What do corals and bones have in common?

Corals and bones are both made up of calcium carbonate.

Calcium carbonate are found in the exoskeleton of sea coral and is
similar to the structure of human bone.
Corals have essential qualities that are very similar to those of
the human bone: their chemical composition is mostly made out of
calcium. They also provide a vascular pathway. Coral is perfect for
growing bone. It is made of calcium, which is a main component in
human bones and is also as strong as human bone, and on the other,
it is porous, so blood vessels can grow inside it. Coral’s porous
structure, which channels nutrients and aids communication
throughout the colony, resembles the spongy structure of bones.
Corals naturally possesses the similar porous structure and
calcium carbonate of human bones. Because the coral’s patterns
matched the tissue in human bones, the coral could provide a platform
for bones to grow. The doctors have turned to coral because it is
"uniquely compatible" with bone, Dr. Spiegel said, and once fixed in
place it melds almost seamlessly with the human skeleton.
Are the properties of artificial bones (made from corals)
the same as real bones?
Yes. Unlike human bones that are formed by protein guidance,
coral produces its skeleton without using proteins. Brent Constanz
decided to try to form an "artificial bone" by copying the way coral
grows. A material, known as "skeletal repair system," is injected as a
paste into a bone fracture site, where it hardens within minutes. After
twelve hours, the injected material is as strong as natural bone, and
gives more support than the screws, pins and plates that are
commonly used to repair broken bones. The body also adapts much
more easily to this injected material because it is so similar in
structure to human bone. Bone cells even grow into the implant,
gradually replacing it with fresh, living bone.
Because the porous coral contains a maze of channels, native
bone adjacent to the coral prosthesis sends spicules and blood vessel
into the graft, producing a firm permanent seal between the skeleton
and the coral. Over time, the coral prosthesis is so permeated with the
encroaching bone that, although the coral is dead, the replaced
segment of bone is more or less alive.
Would artificial bones made from coral cause any
problems to the patient?
No. Coral is made like bones. As a result, the body will not reject
it as if it were a strange substances. It does not activate the body
immune system which defends the body against foreign substances.
The coral bone does not appear to activate either the body's
inflammation or immune responses. When they are made into bone
grafts they contain the qualities of a biological bone graft without the
risk of contracting diseases.
As the bones grew back, the scaffolds of the initial implant
dissolved gradually. So, not only does the implant allow the bone to
heal while quite literally creating natural bone in places where it’s
missing, but it also dissolves when it is no longer needed.
The implant has a similar composition to natural bone, so the
researchers concluded that it was able to dissolve seamlessly without
any toxic side effects and meld into the bone because, “the body can’t
tell the difference,” Zreiqat said. The implant is porous and acts as a
scaffold that natural bone and blood vessels can grow through, which
makes it a seemingly perfect tool in bone restoration.