Relating to bone formation that occurs within cartilage, where cartilage is gradually replaced by bone as organisms grow.
From endo- (within) + chondr- (from Greek chondros, 'cartilage') + -al (adjective). This term describes a fundamental biological process observable in vertebrate skeletal development.
Endochondral ossification is why you're taller than you were as a child—your bones grew by replacing cartilage with bone, and this process continues until your growth plates fuse, typically in your late teens.
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