Bony Tissue. Indirect or Chondral Bone Formation. Endochondral or Cartilage Bone. Continuation of Plate 101

Abstract

In the middle of a spicule (1) of endochondral bone is located a remnant of calcified hyaline cartilage (2), which has served as a site of attachment for the osteoblasts. The first osteoblasts to have arrived can be seen near the calcified cartilage as osteocytes (3) that have already become embedded in the bone matrix. On the surface of the spicule, there is a new layer of osteoblasts (4), which secrete osteoid (5), like the first generation of osteoblasts. This layer will also become enclosed in the bone matrix and differentiate into osteocytes. The initially thin spicule becomes thicker and transforms into a trabecula, owing to the continuous influx of new osteoblasts (6).