Biology / Unit 13 Bio 3097 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Bone Growth: Ossification and the Epiphyseal Plate
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The idea
Bone lengthens through ossification at the epiphyseal plate, a cartilage growth zone near each long bone's end that gradually converts to bone and closes once growth finishes.
In practice
An X-ray showing an open epiphyseal plate indicates a skeleton still capable of lengthening.
Where people slip
A closed epiphyseal plate stops lengthwise growth permanently — bone can still remodel afterward but not lengthen.
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