Growth plate.

Growth plate.

• A. Epiphyseal plate
• B. Scapular notch
• C. Fovea for ligament of head of femur
• D. Conoid ligament

Answer: (A)

The growth plate is the epiphyseal plate, a region of cartilage between the end of a bone (epiphysis) and the shaft (metaphysis) where lengthwise bone growth occurs. In children, new cartilage cells divide and push the ends of the bone apart; this cartilage is gradually replaced by bone through endochondral ossification, allowing the bone to lengthen. Once growth stops, the plate ossifies and becomes the epiphyseal line. That makes the epiphyseal plate the correct term for the “growth plate.” The other options refer to anatomical features not involved in bone growth: a scapular notch is a feature of the scapula, the fovea for the ligament of the head of the femur is a small depression on the femoral head for a ligament, and the conoid ligament is part of the coracoclavicular ligament.

The growth plate is the epiphyseal plate, a region of cartilage between the end of a bone (epiphysis) and the shaft (metaphysis) where lengthwise bone growth occurs. In children, new cartilage cells divide and push the ends of the bone apart; this cartilage is gradually replaced by bone through endochondral ossification, allowing the bone to lengthen. Once growth stops, the plate ossifies and becomes the epiphyseal line. That makes the epiphyseal plate the correct term for the “growth plate.” The other options refer to anatomical features not involved in bone growth: a scapular notch is a feature of the scapula, the fovea for the ligament of the head of the femur is a small depression on the femoral head for a ligament, and the conoid ligament is part of the coracoclavicular ligament.