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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Aug 1.
Published in final edited form as: Bone. 2010 May 2;47(2):190–196. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2010.04.606

Figure 2. Schematic representation of the fetal growth plate.

Figure 2

Mesenchymal cells differentiate into round proliferative chondrocytes and when they divide are piled up in a layer of columnar proliferative chondrocytes. Both layers produce collagen type II. The latest chondrocytes are the hypertrophic ones that express collagen type X and mineralize their matrix. When hypertrophic chondrocytes undergo apoptosis, the space is invaded by blood vessels and colonized by osteoblasts, which produce the primordial trabecular bone, also called primary spongiosa. The most hypoxic areas in the growth plate are shown in red.