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Fetal Skeleton 6 Months Old
In this specimen we can appreciate a six-month old fetal skeleton.
Early in gestation, a fetus has a cartilaginous skeleton from which the long bones and most other bones gradually form throughout development and for years after birth by a process called endochondral ossification. Ossification or osteogenesis is the process of laying new bone material by cells called osteoblasts. Two processes result in the formation of normal, healthy bone tissue. Intramembranous ossification is the direct laying of bone into the primitive connective tissue (mesenchyme). This is how the flat bones of the skull and the clavicles are formed. Endochondral ossification involves cartilage as a precursor. It is responsible for the development of majority of the bones in the body including the limbs. Ossification of the mandible occurs in the fibrous membrane covering the outer surfaces of Meckel’s cartilages.
Osteoblasts:
Osteoblasts (young bone forming cells) are specialized mesenchymal cells that synthesize bone matrix and coordinate the mineralization of the skeleton.
Meckel's cartilage:
The Meckel's cartilage is the cartilage (cartilaginous bar of the mandibular arch) of the first pharyngeal arch. It forms the malleus and incus and also is responsible for the development of the mandible.
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