Question

The epiphyseal plate:

1. is arranged as rods or plates
2. contains the bone’s blood vessels and nerve fibers
3. is responsible for the lengthwise growth of long bones
4. synthesizes and secretes bone matrix

Short answer

The correct answer is option (c).

The epiphyseal plate is responsible for the lengthwise growth of long bones.

Step-by-step solution

Epiphyseal plate

• The epiphysis of long bones contains epiphyseal plates.
• A disc of hyaline cartilage called the epiphyseal plate develops during childhood to extend the bone.
• In long bones, the epiphyseal growth plate is a coat of cartilage that only appears during the development phase and disappears shortly after puberty.

Step: 1 Explanation for Correct answer

• The principal source for long bone growth is the epiphyseal growth plate.
• At the epiphyseal plate, bones lengthen through a process resembling endochondral ossification.
• The cartilage continues to expand by mitosis in the area of the epiphyseal plate close to the epiphysis. Thus, the option c is correct.

Step: 2 Explanation for incorrect answer

• The epiphyseal plate is a hyaline cartilage plate in the metaphysis at each end of a long bone. So, option a is wrong.
• Hyaline cartilage cells are multiplying and generating hyaline cartilage matrix on the epiphyseal side of the epiphyseal plate. So, option b is wrong as well.
• In the epiphyseal plate, the production of the usual extracellular matrix all works together to produce cartilage. Hence, option d is wrong too.