Bones and Cartilage: Developmental and Evolutionary Skeletal Biology

Abstract

Bones and Cartilage provides the most in-depth review ever assembled on the topic. It examines the function, development and evolution of bone and cartilage as tissues, organs and skeletal systems. It describes how bone and cartilage is developed in embryos and are maintained in adults, how bone reappears when we break a leg, or even regenerates when a newt grows a new limb, or a lizard a tail. This book also looks at the molecules and cells that make bones and cartilages and how they differ in various parts of the body and across species. It answers such questions as Is bone always bone? Do bones that develop indirectly by replacing other tissues, such as marrow, tendons or ligaments, differ from one another? Is fish bone the same as human bone? Can sharks even make bone and many more. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.