The figure contains the zone of serial cartilage and its transition to the zone of hypertrophic cartilage.
In the upper image the region of the epiphyseal disk shown in the lower image is highlighted.
Lower image
1 – Zone of serial cartilage
Tis region is formed by chondrocytes (highlighted in red) during the growth of the bone undergo cell division. Their daughter cells become arranged in stacks. The extracellular matrix is highlighted in light blue.
Observe that the chondrocytes located in the lower portion of each stack gradually show an increase in volume and will constitute the hypertrophic cartilage zone, which will be studied next.
2- Zone of hypertrophic cartilage
It is formed by hypertrophied chondrocytes (highlighted in green). As the chondrocytes move away (move down in this image) from the serial cartilage zone, their volume increases.
As the cells increase in size, the extracellular matrix (highlighted in light blue) decreases in volume, and the chondrocytes become separated by cartilaginous extracellular matrix highlighted in light blue.
