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An epiphysis (from Ancient Greek ἐπί (epí) 'on top of' and φύσις (phúsis) 'growth'; pl.: epiphyses) is one of the rounded ends or tips of a long bone that ossify from one or more secondary centers of ossification.
A secondary ossification center is the area of ossification that appears after the primary ossification center has already appeared – most of which appear during the postnatal and adolescent years. Most bones have more than one secondary ossification center. In long bones, the secondary centers appear in the epiphyses. [2]
Endochondral ossification is responsible for the initial bone development from cartilage in utero and infants and the longitudinal growth of long bones in the epiphyseal plate. The plate's chondrocytes are under constant division by mitosis. These daughter cells stack facing the epiphysis while the older cells are pushed towards the diaphysis.
Secondary ossification mostly occurs after birth (except for distal femur and proximal tibia which occurs during 9th month of fetal development). The epiphyseal arteries and osteogenic cells invade the epiphysis , depositing osteoclasts and osteoblasts which erode the cartilage and build bone, respectively.
As the secondary ossification centers enlarge, residual cartilage persists in two distinct locations: [11] Articular cartilage: This layer coats the bone ends, concerned with joint movement. Epiphyseal growth plate : This transverse layer lies between the epiphysis and diaphysis .
They grow primarily by elongation of the diaphysis, with an epiphysis at each end of the growing bone. The ends of epiphyses are covered with hyaline cartilage ("articular cartilage"). The longitudinal growth of long bones is a result of endochondral ossification at the epiphyseal plate.
However, it serves as an indicator of the boundary between the epiphysis and diaphysis. [4] References This page was last edited on 30 July 2024, at ...
epiphysis: The end regions of a long bone; regions of secondary ossification. epi-+ physis, "on top of the growth part" physis (epiphyseal plate) Also known as the growth plate. In a long bone it is a thin disc of hyaline cartilage that is positioned transversely between the epiphysis and metaphysis. In the long bones of humans, the epiphyseal ...