Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2003 May;69(2):123-43.
doi: 10.1002/bdrc.10014.

Physiology and pathophysiology of the growth plate

R Tracy Ballock  1 , Regis J O'Keefe
Affiliations
Review

Physiology and pathophysiology of the growth plate

R Tracy Ballock et al. Birth Defects Res C Embryo Today. 2003 May.

Abstract

Longitudinal growth of the skeleton is a result of endochondral ossification that occurs at the growth plate. Through a sequential process of cell proliferation, extracellular matrix synthesis, cellular hypertrophy, matrix mineralization, vascular invasion, and eventually apoptosis, the cartilage model is continually replaced by bone as length increases. The regulation of longitudinal growth at the growth plate occurs generally through the intimate interaction of circulating systemic hormones and locally produced peptide growth factors, the net result of which is to trigger changes in gene expression by growth plate chondrocytes. This review highlights recent advances in genetics and cell biology that are illuminating the important regulatory mechanisms governing the structure and biology of the growth plate, and provides selected examples of how studies of human mutations have yielded a wealth of new knowledge regarding the normal biology and pathophysiology of growth plate cartilage.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources