Bone Development and Growth, 3rd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue follows the publication of the first and second editions on the topic of “Bone Development and Growth”.

The skeleton is a structure composed of elements of various shapes and origins that supports and protects the body. The development and growth of the skeleton is an ongoing, life-long process. Skeletal elements, i.e., bones, are mainly formed from cartilage and osseous tissue. Each has a specific cell type—chondrocytes in cartilage and osteoblasts and osteoclasts in osseous tissue—with its own differentiation pathway. There have been many recent significant conceptual advances in our understanding of bone development, but the mechanisms involved are so complex that researchers have only just begun to understand them and they have not yet been fully illustrated. The aim of this Special Issue is to present an up-to-date perspective on the process of formation and maintenance of the skeleton. On this basis, this Special Issue focuses on bone development and growth, including the mechanisms of bone formation, the pathways that regulate the differentiation of cartilage cells (chondrocytes), bone-forming cells (osteoblasts), and bone-destroying cells (osteoclasts), limb development, endochondral and intramembranous ossification, the structural aspects of the longitudinal and transverse growth of bones, the role of hormones in bone formation and microarchitecture, bone-growth pathologies, heterotopic bone formation, bone repair and transplantation, and bone regenerative medicine. Thus, it is open to contributions from anyone interested in bone development and function, including anatomists, cell biologists, physiologists, biochemists, orthopedists, pathologists, clinicians, and biomedical engineers.

Prof. Dr. José López
Guest Editor

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• bone development
• osteogenesis
• bone cells
• bone matrix
• intramembranous bone
• endochondral bone
• periosteum
• mineralization
• growth plate
• bone structure
• bone remodeling
• histomorphometry
• growth factors
• bone morphogenic protein
• bone metabolism markers
• fracture repair
• bone defects
• bone quality
• heterotopic bone formation
• biograft
• new bone formation