Epiphyseal plate

 Endochondral ossification is associated with the growth (in length) of long bones such as the
humerus and the femur.
 In this process, bone is formed on the pre-existing hyaline cartilage template, whereby the
bone replaces the cartilage.
 In the cartilage model, the long bone is initially made entirely of solid hyaline cartilage.
 By appositional growth, the chondrocytes undergo continuous cell division to form a dumb-
bell shaped mass made up of the diaphysis and future epiphyses.
 The cartilage is surrounded by the perichondrium, which later develops into the periosteum.

Primary ossification centre

 The periosteum forms a bone collar surrounding the diaphysis of the cartilage model.
 The bone collar is produced by osteoblast activity within the perichondrium.
 This collar prevents the diffusion of nutrients and oxygen into the cartilage, causing the
degeneration of cartilage.
 The chondrocytes begin to swell up (hypertrophy), compressing the matrix into narrow
trabeculae and lead to calcification and death of the chondrocytes.
 This results in a porous structure which is penetrated by blood vessels from the former
perichondrium.
 Next, osteoblasts adhere to the calcified cartilage matrix and produce layers of primary bone.

Secondary ossification centre

 These centres appear at a slightly later stage than the primary ossification centre and are
located at the epiphyses of the cartilage model.
 There are two regions of cartilage in the secondary ossification centres; the articular
cartilage which is not involved in bone growth and the epiphyseal plate which is involved in
bone growth.
 The epiphyseal plate is located at the junction of the diaphysis and epiphysis, at each end of
the bone.
 The articular cartilage will remain throughout adult life while the epiphyseal plate would not
be present in an adult.
 Referring to the magnified diagram opposite, the epiphyseal plate consists of 6 zones:
1. Zone of reserve cartilage; which consists of chondrocytes of hyaline cartilage.
2. Zone of proliferation; where the chondrocytes undergo rapid cell division and form
columns of cells which appear to be stacked.
3. Zone of maturation; chondrocytes stop dividing and increase in size.
4. Zone of hypertrophy and calcification; chondrocytes enlarge rapidly with accumulated
glycogen in the cytoplasm. Hypertrophy reduces the matrix to thin septa between the
chondrocytes. The matrix becomes calcified.
5. Zone of cartilage degeneration; chondrocytes are degenerated by apoptosis. The
calcified matrix is invaded by the capillaries and osteoprogenitor cells from the marrow
cavity of the diaphysis.
6. Osteogenic zone; osteoprogenitor cells differentiate into osteoblasts, which deposit
osteoid on the spicules of calcified matrix to form woven bone.
 The final outcome of this process is the displacement of the epiphyseal plate away from the
diaphysis, leading to growth in length of the bone.
 Calcium deficiency in the diet can lead to abnormal growth of the epiphyseal plate.
 In children, calcium deficiency causes rickets, a disease characterized by the abnormal
calcification of the bone matrix. This causes the epiphyseal plate to become distorted by the
weight of the body and normal muscle activity, leading to slow growth and deformity of the
bones.
 The point of union of the primary and secondary ossification centres is called the epiphyseal
line (remnant of epiphyseal plate).