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Ossification is the process of bone
Bone

Bones are rigid organ that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red blood cell and white blood cells and store minerals....
 formation, in which connective tissues, such as cartilage
Cartilage

Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue. It is composed of specialized cells called chondrocyte that produce a large amount of extracellular matrix composed of collagen fibers, abundant ground substance rich in proteoglycan, and elastin fibers....
 are turned to bone or bone-like tissue. The ossified tissue is invaginated with blood vessels. These blood vessels bring minerals like calcium
Calcium

Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft grey alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth most abundant element by mass in the earth's Crust ....
 and deposit it in the ossifying tissue. Bone formation is a dynamic process, with cells called osteoblast
Osteoblast

An osteoblast is a mononucleate cell that is responsible for bone formation. Osteoblasts produce osteoid, which is composed mainly of Type I collagen....
s depositing minerals, and osteoclast
Osteoclast

An osteoclast is a type of bone cell that removes bone tissue by removing its mineralized matrix. This process is known as bone resorption....
s removing bone. This process, termed bone remodeling
Bone remodeling

Bone remodeling is a life long process where old bone is removed from the skeleton and new bone is added . These processes also control the reshaping or replacement of bone during growth and following injuries....
 continues throughout life.


ral hypotheses have been proposed for how bone evolved as a structural element in vertebrates.






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Ossification is the process of bone
Bone

Bones are rigid organ that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red blood cell and white blood cells and store minerals....
 formation, in which connective tissues, such as cartilage
Cartilage

Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue. It is composed of specialized cells called chondrocyte that produce a large amount of extracellular matrix composed of collagen fibers, abundant ground substance rich in proteoglycan, and elastin fibers....
 are turned to bone or bone-like tissue. The ossified tissue is invaginated with blood vessels. These blood vessels bring minerals like calcium
Calcium

Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft grey alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth most abundant element by mass in the earth's Crust ....
 and deposit it in the ossifying tissue. Bone formation is a dynamic process, with cells called osteoblast
Osteoblast

An osteoblast is a mononucleate cell that is responsible for bone formation. Osteoblasts produce osteoid, which is composed mainly of Type I collagen....
s depositing minerals, and osteoclast
Osteoclast

An osteoclast is a type of bone cell that removes bone tissue by removing its mineralized matrix. This process is known as bone resorption....
s removing bone. This process, termed bone remodeling
Bone remodeling

Bone remodeling is a life long process where old bone is removed from the skeleton and new bone is added . These processes also control the reshaping or replacement of bone during growth and following injuries....
 continues throughout life.

Types of ossification

  • Endochondral ossification
    Endochondral ossification

    Endochondral ossification is one of the two processes during fetal development of the mammal skeleton in which bone tissue is created. It is also an essential process during the rudimentary formation of long bones, the growth of the Epiphyseal plate of long bones, and the healing of bone healing....
    : formation of bone by detachment of hyaline cartilage
    Hyaline cartilage

    Hyaline cartilage consists of a slimy mass of a firm consistency, but of considerable elasticity and pearly bluish color. It contains no nerves or blood vessels, and its structure is relatively simple....
    .
  • Intramembranous ossification
    Intramembranous ossification

    Intramembranous ossification is one of the two processes during fetal development of the mammal skeleton in which bone tissue is created. It is also an essential process during the healing of bone healing and the rudimentary formation of bone of the Human skull....
    : dissolment of bone from mesenchyme
    Mesenchyme

    Mesenchyme is a type of loose connective tissue, of mesodermal origin and located within the embryo mesoderm, consisting of a ground substance Matrix containing a loose aggregate of unspecialized cell which are capable of developing into connective tissue, bone, cartilage, the lymphatic system, and the circulatory system....
    , esp. round bones found in the pelvis
    Pelvis

    The pelvis or pelvic girdle is the irregular bone structure located at the base of the spine . In the adult human, it is formed by the sacrum and the coccyx, the caudal part of the axial skeleton, and a pair of hip bones, part of the appendicular skeleton or human leg....
  • Heterotopic ossification
    Heterotopic ossification

    Heterotopic ossification is the process by which trabecular bone forms outside of the skeleton....
    : detachment of bone in extraskeletal hard tissue, esp. in connective tissue or muscle tissue.


Evolution

Several hypotheses have been proposed for how bone evolved as a structural element in vertebrates. One popular idea is that bone developed from tissues that evolved to store mineral
Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid formed through Geology processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties....
s. In this model, minerals such as calcium were stored in cartilage
Cartilage

Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue. It is composed of specialized cells called chondrocyte that produce a large amount of extracellular matrix composed of collagen fibers, abundant ground substance rich in proteoglycan, and elastin fibers....
, and that bone was an exaptation
Exaptation

Exaptation, cooption, and preadaptation are related terms referring to shifts in the function of a trait during evolution. For example, a trait can evolve because it served one particular function, but subsequently it may come to serve another....
 from this ossified cartilage
Cartilage

Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue. It is composed of specialized cells called chondrocyte that produce a large amount of extracellular matrix composed of collagen fibers, abundant ground substance rich in proteoglycan, and elastin fibers....
. However, other possibilities include bony tissue evolving as an osmotic barrier, or as a protective structure.

See also

  • Bone healing
    Bone healing

    Bone healing, or fracture healing, is a Cell growth physiological process in which the body facilitates the repair of a bone fracture....
  • Ossicone
    Ossicone

    Not to be confused with ossiclesOssicones are Horn -like protuberances on the heads of giraffes, male okapis, and their extinct relatives, such as Sivatherium, and the climacoceratids, such as Climacoceras....