Lengthwise, long bone growth during infancy and youth is exclusively through interstitial growth of the epiphyseal plates.
The epiphyseal plate can be described as the area of elongation in a long bone. The epiphyseal plate is composed of five zones that contain different cells with different activity. The longitudinal growth of bone is a result of:
1. cellular division in the zone that is called proliferative zone and
2. the maturation of cells in the zone of maturation and hypertrophy.
This growth is called interstitial growth. The rate of growth is controlled by hormones and bones continue to grow in length until early adulthood.
The epiphyseal plates can be defined as the area of the growth present in the long bones. All the long bones grows by the interstitial growth of the epiphyseal plates.
The epiphyseal growth plate or the growth plate is present near the end of the long bones of the infants and the adolescents. It is a disc like structure made up of hyaline cartilage.
Hence, the correct answer is interstitial growth of the epiphyseal plates.
