why does your amount of cartilage decrease and the amount of bone increase as a person develops?

Question

why does your amount of cartilage decrease and the amount of bone increase as a person develops? helpp!

Answer 1

this only happens until puberty is over than we have all the bone we are ever going to have. before we are born all of aour bones start as hyaline cartilage, and as we grow, inorder to support out weight, aour cartilage is replaced by bone, the process is called ossification. cell called osteoclasts breakdown the cartilage matrix, which is made of calcium carbonate, and then the osteoblasts, reproduce to make osteocytes that then start producing bone matrix which is primarily calcium phosphate. this process starts in the center or diaphysis of long bones and the bones grow up and down by adding more bone matrix at the epiphseal plate, (called sometime growth plate) which is cartilage at the end of bones, this turns to bone at the end of puberty so your bones don't grow anymore. the cartilage that covers the articular surfaces stay cartilage though(the stuff in your joints)

Answer 2

Babies are not just little adults. Their bodies mature for years after that initial 9 months in the womb. The size and complexity of a human adult is too much for a baby to develop in just 9 months. The bones thicken and lengthen over a long period of time. There are epipyseal plates(growth plate) where much of the growing occurs. If they were already completely made of bone, and the guy would be stunted. Also, a boney, rigid baby would have a lot of trouble fitting through the vaginal opening. Babies come out pretty flexible. Still, it's a tight fit.

Answer 3

Yes, that's a good point

Answer 4

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