Epiphyseal growth plate, light micrograph. Growth, or epiphyseal, plate of a developing long bone showing the following layers, from right to left: zone of proliferation with chondrocyte columns, zone of hypertrophy with large lacunae, zone of calcification with dead chondrocytes, and an ossification zone, with blood vessels and osteogenic cells. The left half of the micrograph shows parallel mixed bone trabeculae, with a bluish centre of acellular calcified cartilage, covered by pink primary bone tissue. |