The Chondro-Osseous Continuum: Is It Possible to Unlock the Potential Assigned Within?

Endochondral ossification, by which long bones of the axial skeleton form, is a tightly regulated process involving chondrocyte maturation with successive stages of proliferation, maturation and hypertrophy, accompanied by cartilage matrix synthesis, calcification and angiogenesis, followed by osteoblast-mediated ossification. This developmental sequence re-appears during fracture repair and in osteoarthritic etiopathology. These similarities...