Tritiated Thymidine Uptake in Chondrocytes of Chickens Afflicted with Tibial Dyschondroplasia

3H-Thymidine was localized in sections of growth-plate cartilage and associated tibial dyschondroplastic lesion by autoradiography. One hour after 3H-thymidine was injected, radioactivity was found in the proliferating zone; after 48 hr it was also in the hypertrophic zone, and by 96 hr it was present in cells that were 4 to 5 mm into the lesion. This indicates that the lesion develops from the growth plate itself. The life span of the cells in the growth plate appears to be about 48 hr.