The axial skelet of the human body begins to form from the metamere sclerotomes surrounding the chorda dorsalis which lies in the occipital region on the cranial side, in the upper vertebral bodies on the caudal side. In the occipital region there appears chondrogenous change in the dense mesenchym while in the vertebral bodies without such change in the loose mesenchym. The latter form of chondrification is characteristic only for the vertebral bodies, the former is common in all other scelet. In the beginning of chondrification appears the chondrogenous change without any distinct outline in the dense mesenchymal tissue.
As this chondrogenous change progresses, the contour of such chondrogenous tissue becomes sharp so that the cartilage scelet becomes distinct. The chondrogenous change before forming of distinct contour may therefore be called precartilageous stage.
In our specimens the precartilageous change appears at first in the Streeter's horizon XV in the humerus (P1.1, Fig.2), a little later but almost at the same time in the femur, then in the occipital region in the horizon XVI (Pl.1, Fig.3). The definite cartilage scelet appears in the horizon XVII, by which embryo humerus, scapula, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, fibula, vertebral bodies from 1st to 19th vertebrae, costal processes of the 7th cervical vertebra, in the cranial region the occipital basis and wing, vestibular half of the otic capsule are all definite, the other scelet is in precartilage stage or dense mesenchymal. These definite cartilages in this horizon XVII may be called 1st grade cartilage (Pl.1, Fig.5, 6; Pl.2, Fig.7, 8).
In the next horizon XVIII the most differentiated cartilages of humerus, ulna, radius, femur can be called 4th grade cartilage (Pl.2, Fig.11) to the next advanced 3rd grade (P1.2, Fig.10) in this horizon may be reckened scapula, tibia, fibula, 1st-6th ribs, the neural processes of the 6th to 19th vertebrae. The occipital basis and wing, sphenoid body, vestibular half of the otic capsule, proc. ali-cochlearis, vertebral bodies from 1st to 22nd vertebrae, lateral part of the atlas, processus neuralis from 1st to 5th, from 20th to 22nd vertebrae, 7th to 12th ribs, proc. costalis of the 7th vertebra, ilium and ischii are 2nd grade cartilage (Pl.2, Fig.9), for the 1st grade cartilage may be counted orbital wing, ala hypochiasmatica, lamina alaris, Meckel's and Reichert's cartilage, arcus ventralis atlantis, processus costotransversarii of the 1st to 6th vertebrae, vertebral bodies of the 23-27th vertebrae, multangulum majus et minus, capitatum, hamatum and triquetrum.
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