Stages in the natural history of the vertebral end-plates.

Four hundred and fifty skeletons were examined, and age changes in the bony vertebral end-plates were grouped into six categories. The predominant patterns of each phase from infancy to senescence are presented. The formation of ridges and sulci that form peripherally are similar to those appearing in other epiphyses and may provide translational stability. When osteophytes appear with maturation, they are separated from the fused ring apophysis by a distinct sulcus.