Application Question 12 - Luis growth and height

 
Application Question 12

    Due Mar 3 by 11:59pm Points 10 Submitting a text entry box Available until Mar 26 at 1pm

This assignment was locked Mar 26 at 1pm.

Look back over the responses from your classmates in the preceding discussion.  If you are satisfied with your original response to this question, simply copy and paste that response here!  If you see something in classmates' responses you wish to incorporate, add that information in before submitting.

One day your friend, Luís, who has always been somewhat short, comes up to you and says, “Okay, you A&P expert, I have a question for you! I exercise lots, eat calcium rich foods, and take vitamin D supplements, but I never get taller! Clearly my bones can grow, since I had a little growth spurt in high school, but I’ve been pretty much the same height ever since then. What was going on with my bones back then that isn’t happening now and why?” You sigh and pull out your A&P book to try to explain.

How do you respond to Luís?

Use the words “chondrocyte,” “osteoblast,” and “estrogen” in your explanation.

Mostly Complete (10 pts): Make appropriate use of the terms chondrocyte, osteoblast, and estrogen to describe activities in epiphyseal growth before and after puberty.  Recall that chondrocytes in the epiphyseal plate reproduce rapidly during puberty stacking on top of one another and lengthening long bones with new cartilage.  That cartilage is then calcified by osteoblasts so the bones are longer and the person is taller.  What happens toward the end of puberty and why?

Partially Complete (6 pts): Missing an accurate description of changes in epiphyseal growth during/after puberty including the roles of chondrocytes, osteoblasts, or estrogen.

   I will explain to Luis that

(1) chondrocytes are specialized cells found in the growth plates of our bones.

(2) Before puberty, chondrocytes divide and contribute to bone lengthening.

(3) The estrogen hormone released during puberty that triggered shortens the life of chondrocytes, leading to the cessation of bone elongation.

(4) At this stage, osteoblasts take over, binding calcium phosphate to harden the bone. Osteoblasts work hard to create new bone tissue, which lengthens  long bones and contributing to our height. Luis's bones settled into their final dimensions, and that’s why he hasn’t experienced significant height changes.As a result, Luis 's height stops at puberty, and so that Luis will no longer grow taller at this point.