title: Can the size of the epiphysis determine the number of secondary ossification centers? A mathematical approach.
abstract: Previous studies have concluded that the chemical feedback (loop) between two reagent molecular factors through a reaction-diffusion mechanism could explain the stable spatial pattern found in the origin of the secondary ossification centres (SOCs). Furthermore, the emergence of the SOC may depend on the size and shape of the head of the bone, as observed in different animals. In this paper, we develop new computer simulations that study the effect of the size of the epiphysis on the emergence of the SOC. This study determines two or more SOCs, that may appear in the head of long bones, depending on the size of the epiphysis.
authors.affiliation: Group of Mathematical Modeling and Numerical Methods GNUM-UN, Bogota, Colombia. dagarzona@bt.unal.edu.co
authors.forename: Diego Alexander
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Garzón-Alvarado
mesh_terms: D001846:Bone Development; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004838:Epiphyses; D006801:Humans