DEVELOPMENT OF

SKELETAL SYSTEM

By
Prof Dr Shaista Ali
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
● Enumerate the sources of development of skeletal system
● Narrate the segmentation of paraxial mesoderm
● Enumerate different parts of somites and give their derivatives
● Explain the events in the formation of the vertebra
● Discuss the development of intervertebral disc
● Comment on the chondrification and ossification centers of
developing vertebra
 SOURCES OF DEVELOPMENT
The skeletal system develops
from

Paraxial mesoderm
Lateral plate (parietal layer)

mesoderm
Neural crest cells
AXIAL AND APPENDICULAR SKELETON
 SEGMENTATION OF
PARAXIAL MESODERM

Paraxial mesoderm forms a

segmented series of tissue
blocks on each side of the neural
tube, known as somitomeres in
the head region
and somites from the occipital
region caudally
Somites differentiate into a ventromedial
part, the sclerotome, and a dorsolateral part,
the dermomyotome
 SOURCE OF DEVELOPMENT OF VERTEBRA

Vertebrae form from the

sclerotome portions of the
somites, which are derived
from paraxial mesoderm
PARTS OF VERTEBRA
 MIGRATION OF SCLEROTOMAL CELLS
During 4th week, Sclerotome
cells migrate around the
spinal cord and notochord to
merge with cells from the
opposing somite on the other
side of the neural tube
Each sclerotome consists of

crainal loosely arranged

portion of cells and caudally
densely packed portion
As development continues,

the sclerotome portion of

each somite also undergoes a
process called
resegmentation
Resegmentation occurs when the RESEGMENTATION
caudal half (densely packed
mesenchymal cells) of each
sclerotome grows into and fuses
with the cephalic half (loosely
arranged mesenchymal cells) of
each subjacent sclerotome to form
its centrum

Each vertebra is formed from the

combination of the caudal half of
one somite and the cranial half of its
caudal neighbour, thus is an
intersegmental structure
 RESEGMENTATION
Myotomes bridge the
intervertebral discs and helps to
move the spine
Spinal nerves
Intersegmental arteries
The mesenchymal cells,
surrounding the neural tube, form
the neural arch
The mesenchymal cells in the body
wall form the costal processes that
form ribs in the thoracic region
 DEVELOPMENT OF INTERVERTEBRAL DISC
Some mesenchymal cells from caudal
densely packed portion of the
sclerotome move cranially between the
cranial and caudal parts. They
contribute to formation of the
intervertebral disc

The notochord regresses entirely in

the region of the vertebral bodies, it
persists and enlarges in the region of
the intervertebral disc where it
contributes to the nucleus pulposus,
which is later surrounded by circular
fibers of the annulus fibrosus
CARTILAGENOUS STAGE OF VERTEBRAL DEVELOPMENT
During sixth week, chondrification
centers appear in each mesenchymal
vertebra
The two centers in each centrum fuse at
the end of the embryonic period to form
a cartilaginous centrum
The centers in the neural arches fuse
with each other and the centrum
The spinous and transverse processes
develop from extensions of
chondrification centers in the neural
arch
Chondrification spreads until a
cartilaginous vertebral column is formed
 OSSIFICATION OF TYPICAL VERTEBRAE
● Begins during the embryonic period and
usually ends by the 25th year
● There are Two primary ossification centers,
ventral and dorsal, for the centrum. These
centers soon fuse to form one center
● Three primary centers are present by the
end of the embryonic period: one in the
centrum and one in each half of the neural
arch
● At birth, each vertebra consists of three
bony parts connected by cartilage
● The bony halves of the vertebral arch
usually fuse during the first 3 to 5 years The
arches first unite in the lumbar region, and
union progresses cranially
 OSSIFICATION OF TYPICAL VERTEBRAE
● The vertebral arch articulates with the
centrum at cartilaginous neurocentral
joints, which permit the vertebral arches to
grow as the spinal cord enlarges. These
joints disappear when the vertebral arch
fuses with the centrum during the third to
sixth years.
● Five secondary ossification centers appear
in the vertebrae after puberty: One for the
tip of the spinous process
● One for the tip of each transverse process
● Two anular epiphyses, one on the superior
and one on the inferior rim of the vertebral
body
● All secondary centers unite with the rest of the vertebra at
approximately 25 years of age.
● Exceptions to the typical ossification of vertebrae occur in the
atlas or C1 vertebra, axis or C2 vertebra, C7 vertebra, lumbar
vertebrae, sacrum, and coccyx
● Minor developmental anomalies of the vertebrae are common,
but in most cases are of little clinical importance
 VARIATION IN THE NUMBER OF VERTEBRAE

● Most people have 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, and 5 sacral

vertebrae. A few have one or two additional vertebrae or one
fewer.
● To determine the number, it is necessary to examine the entire
vertebral column because an apparent extra (or absent) vertebra
in one segment of the column may be compensated for by an
absent (or extra) vertebra in an adjacent segment; for example,
11 thoracic-type vertebrae with 6 lumbar-type vertebrae.