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. 2016 Jun:173:32-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.02.068. Epub 2016 Mar 26.

The Biology of Stature

Youn Hee Jee  1 , Jeffrey Baron  2
Affiliations

The Biology of Stature

Youn Hee Jee et al. J Pediatr. 2016 Jun.
No abstract available

Keywords: Growth; chondrogenesis; genome-wide association study; growth plate; growth plate senescence; short stature; whole-exome sequencing.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Growth plate chondrogenesis diagram
A. Growth plate (light blue) lies near the end of a long bone B. Enlarged view of the growth plate illustrating its 3 constituent zones, each containing chondrocytes. C. Over time, the proliferative zone chondrocytes, which are arranged in columns, undergo cell divisions (yellow bars trace a single cell over time). D. When chondrocytes reach the border of the proliferative zone closest to the metaphysis, they cease proliferating and instead hypertrophy. Proliferation, hypertrophy, and extracellular matrix secretion contribute to chondrogenesis (cartilage formation). At the boundary of the growth plate and the metaphysis, the newly formed cartilage is remodeled into bone (not shown).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Changes in linear growth velocity with age
The linear growth velocity (change in body length per year) is rapid in infancy, declines in childhood, accelerates in adolescence, and then declines again and ceases by adulthood. The principal mechanisms responsible for these changes are shown. The Figure represents the typical growth pattern for a boy. Girls usually show an earlier growth spurt and earlier cessation of growth. The timing of the pubertal growth spurt and the cessation of growth are often shifted to the right in malnutrition, chronic systemic disease, and in healthy children with a slow developmental tempo. Conversely, a shift to the left occurs in children with a rapid developmental tempo.
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