The smooth tissue at the ends of bones, which is covered with another type of tissue called cartilage. Cartilage is the specialized, gristly connective tissue that is present in adults. It’s also the tissue from which most bones develop in children.

The ends of epiphyses are covered with hyaline cartilage (“articular cartilage”). The longitudinal growth of long bones is a result of endochondral ossification at the epiphyseal plate.

A long bone is a bone that has a shaft and 2 ends and is longer than it is wide. The ends of a long bone contain spongy bone and an epiphyseal line. The epiphyseal line is a remnant of an area that contained hyaline cartilage that grew during childhood to lengthen the bone.

condyles

ARTICULAR CARTILAGE – ____________________ The articular cartilage is found on the ends of long bones. It is smooth, slippery, and bloodless. Healthy cartilage in our joints makes it easier to move. It allows the bones to glide over each other with very little friction.

In the adult, only the metaphysis and diaphysis are present (Figure 1). Figure 1: Anatomical differences between adult and child bone. The epiphysis is completely or mostly cartilaginous in infants.

The metaphyses (singular: metaphysis) are the wide portions of long bones and the regions of the bone where growth occurs. Growth occurs at the section of the metaphysis that is adjacent to the growth plate (physis). The metaphysis is located between the diaphysis and epiphysis.

In intramembranous ossification, bone develops directly from sheets of mesenchymal connective tissue. In endochondral ossification, bone develops by replacing hyaline cartilage. Activity in the epiphyseal plate enables bones to grow in length. Remodeling occurs as bone is resorbed and replaced by new bone.