Calcificaiton of growth plate cartilage with special reference to studies on micropuncture fluids.

No final comprehensive hypothesis of the chain of events involved in inhibition of calcification can be constructed at the present time. The flow diagram in Figure 1 is presented only as a working hypothesis currently used by the authors. Insofar as the Cfl is representative of native factors at calcifying sites, none of the major theories on the nature of mineral formation at present seem excluded. As in the fields of clotting and complement pathways, where backup systems seem to operate, one should not be surprised if more than one system operates in cartilaginous calcification.