The Skeletal System Assignment

The main role the skeletal system plays in our bodies is to provide a strong foundation, or framework, for our muscles and vital organs to attach to.  They are also the main storage area for the bodies calcium.
The Epiphyseal plate, more commonly known as the growth plate, has a huge role in human development, because without it, we would not grow any taller as we got older. When we are born, the majority of our skeletal system is made up of cartilage, which through a process called ossification is slowly converted to bone. Once the skeletal system has fully formed after birth and we start to grow, the long bones retain a small amount of cartilage at each end, which will divide and multiply, forcing old cartilage back towards the middle of the bone, which will eventually be converted to bone once the cartilage cells die, and keep developing new cartilage so the process can continue, and we can grow taller. This process only occurs before puberty, which is why we stop growing taller afterwards. Once the body reaches puberty, the growth plates of cartilage are converted to bone proper.