Epiphyseal Closure in White-Tailed Deer

tion are centered. In long bones, the shaft (diaphysis) is separated from the ends (epiphyses) by cartilaginous plates that eventually ossify and stop longitudinal growth. Within a species, the timing and order of ossification of epiphyses are relatively constant although published accounts for cervids are rare (Lewall and Cowan 1963, Bosold 1968, Iregren 1975). Variation of the closure process in large mammals is not well documented even