When does ossification end?

[littleb5081]

Crazy biology homework that I can't find the answer to...

[guynoodle]

Ossification is the process of forming new bone. Even though you stop growing at the end of puberty, ossification continues throughout life as the bones are constantly remodeling, so I would say that ossification ends when you die.

[kt4568]

Ossification is the process of bone formation in which cartilage is turned into bone. This is primarily accomplished by specialized cells called "osteoblasts", which exude a matrix around themselves which then becomes mineralized. When the osteoblasts are completely surrounded by the calcified matrix, the process of bone formation is, in one meaning, finished, as the osteoblasts no longer function as they did before, and are instead considered osteocytes, or normal bone cells. However, bone is a very dynamic tissue that is constantly being broken down and re built. This remodeling continues through life.