ossification
Cartilage becomes bone
Ossification is the process of becoming bone—the hardening of cartilage or tissue into bony material.
Figuratively, ossification describes ideas, institutions, or practices growing rigid and resistant to change: the ossification of bureaucracy, intellectual ossification.
The verb is ossify: His thinking has ossified over the years.
Quality of being unbending
- rigidityState of being unbending
- stubbornnessRefusal to yield
- intransigenceRefusal to compromise
- dogmatismUnyielding adherence to doctrine
entrenchment · bureaucratic · institutionalized · hidebound · doctrinaire · unyielding · sclerotic · immovability
Bone-synthesizing cells
- cartilageFlexible connective body tissue
- mineralizationConversion to mineral form
- collagenStructural body protein
- matrixOrdered numerical arrangement
periosteum · fontanelle · lamellae · spicules · osteoid
Conversion to mineral form
- hardeningBecoming less soft
- calciumElement twenty, builds bones
- phosphatePO₄ ion compound
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
Gradual functional decline with age
- elderlyAdvanced in age
- arthritisInflamed joint disease
- osteoporosisDisease weakening skeletal structure
- gerontologyScientific study of senescence
geriatrics · age-related · degenerative · presbyopia · decrepitude
Rigid administrative system
- stagnationAbsence of flow or progress
- entrenchmentFortified or fixed position
- sclerosisMorbid tissue hardening
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
inertia · gridlock · outdated · hidebound · procedural · administrative · deadlock · impasse
inflexibility
Quality of being unbending
- rigidityState of being unbending
- stubbornnessRefusal to yield
- intransigenceRefusal to compromise
dogmatism · entrenchment · bureaucratic · institutionalized · hidebound · doctrinaire · unyielding · sclerotic · immovability · unbending
osteoblasts
Bone-synthesizing cells
- cartilageFlexible connective body tissue
- mineralizationConversion to mineral form
- collagenStructural body protein
matrix · periosteum · fontanelle · lamellae · spicules · osteoid
mineralization
Conversion to mineral form
senescence
Gradual functional decline with age
- elderlyAdvanced in age
- arthritisInflamed joint disease
- osteoporosisDisease weakening skeletal structure
gerontology · geriatrics · age-related · degenerative · presbyopia · decrepitude
bureaucracy
Rigid administrative system
- stagnationAbsence of flow or progress
- entrenchmentFortified or fixed position
- sclerosisMorbid tissue hardening
hierarchy · inertia · gridlock · outdated · hidebound · procedural · administrative · deadlock · impasse
- developmentgrowth, progress, advancement, expansion, improvement
- orthopedicsorthopedic surgeon, orthopedic surgery, bone fracture, joint replacement, hip replacement
- bone traitsdense, brittle, porous, hollow, thick
- hardeninghardening, stiffening, solidification, solidifying, rigidifying
- prenatal developmentembryo, fetus, embryogenesis, organogenesis, fetal growth
- bone biologybone tissue, osteoblasts, osteoid, bone formation, remodeling
ossificationsoftening
Becoming less firm
dissolution · decalcification · demineralization · liquefaction · resorption
ossificationflexibility
Ability to adapt easily
adaptability · fluidity · dynamism · innovation · evolution