ossification

American  

[os-uh-fi-key-shuhn] / ˌɒs ə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of ossifying.

2. the state of being ossified.

3. something that has ossified; a bony formation.

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ossification British  

/ ˌɒsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the formation of or conversion into bone

2. the process of ossifying or the state of being ossified

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ossification Scientific  

/ ŏs′ə-fĭ-kā′shən /

1. The process of bone formation, brought about by the action of specialized bone cells called osteoclasts, which absorb old bone tissue, and osteoblasts, which form from osteoclasts and produce new bone tissue. This remodeling of bone is a constant process that maintains bone strength.

2. See more at osteoblast osteoclast

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Etymology

Origin of ossification

1690–1700; < Latin ossi-, combining form of os bone + -fication

Example Sentences

The ossification of the bone fragments also indicates that pressure was occasionally applied to the stump as the young hunter-gatherer probably rested on it after the limb was removed, he added.

From Washington Post • Sep. 7, 2022

The effect of gravity and the lack of buoyancy on land meant that body weight was suspended on the limbs, leading to increased strengthening and ossification of the limbs.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

In contrast, the cranial base and facial bones are produced by the process of endochondral ossification, in which mesenchyme tissue initially produces a hyaline cartilage model of the future bone.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The process of endochondral ossification, which converts the cartilage models into bone, begins by the twelfth week of embryonic development.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Initially the frontoparietals are present as thin rods of ossification dorsomedial to the orbits; the frontoparietals extend from the anterior to the posterior end of the orbit by developmental stage 44.

From Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca by Duellman, William E.