Cartilage calcification in the human thoracic column.

Abstract

A histological and microradiological study of the cartilage calcification processes in the human thoracic column of an old man has been performed. Two different types of cartilage mineralization have been identified. The first corresponds to a calcification of the hyaline cartilage ground substance where chondrocytes are apparently intact. The second is a real mineralization of the chondrocyte lacunae in an uncalcified matrix, which we have called cartilaginous necrosis