Final answer:
The epiphyseal plate, also known as the growth plate, is the area in long bones made of cartilage that allows for their growth in length until early adulthood.
Step-by-step explanation:
The area of the long bone composed of cartilage that allows the bone to grow in length is known as the epiphyseal plate. This region is a layer of hyaline cartilage found in growing bones, where new cartilage is continuously formed on the epiphyseal side, allowing for lengthening of the bone. With time, the cartilage on the diaphyseal side ossifies, contributing to the bone's longitudinal growth. The epiphyseal plate functions until early adulthood, after which the longitudinal growth of the bone ceases, leaving behind an epiphyseal line. Hormones regulate the rate of growth, and once chondrocytes in the epiphyseal plate stop dividing, bone replaces cartilage, indicating the end of the growth phase.
The area of the long bone composed of cartilage that allows the bone to grow in length is called the epiphyseal plate. It is a layer of hyaline cartilage where ossification occurs in immature bones. On the epiphyseal side of the epiphyseal plate, cartilage is formed. On the diaphyseal side, cartilage is ossified, and the diaphysis grows in length.