Which statement about bone growth is true?

• A. Bones stop growing in length after puberty.
• B. Bones stop regenerating after puberty.
• C. The skeleton is static and unchanging.
• D. The number of bones changes after puberty.

Answer: (A)

Growth in bone length happens at the growth plates near the ends of long bones. During puberty, hormones accelerate the ossification and eventual fusion of these plates, which stops any further lengthwise growth. Even though bones stop getting longer, they continue to remodel and repair throughout life, and the skeleton can change in thickness and shape, though the total number of bones remains basically the same after development. So the true statement is that bones stop growing in length after puberty.