2 definitions
for ossification
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
Ossification \Os`si*fi*ca"tion\, n. [Cf. F. ossification. See
Ossify.]
1. (Physiol.) The formation of bone; the process, in the
growth of an animal, by which inorganic material (mainly
lime salts) is deposited in cartilage or membrane, forming
bony tissue; ostosis.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Besides the natural ossification of growing tissue,
there is the so-called accidental ossification which
sometimes follows certain abnormal conditions, as in
the ossification of an artery.
[1913 Webster]
2. The state of being changed into a bony substance; also, a
mass or point of ossified tissue.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 :
ossification
n 1: the developmental process of bone formation
2: the calcification of soft tissue into a bonelike material
3: the process of becoming rigidly fixed in a conventional
pattern of thught or behavior
4: hardened conventionality [syn: conformity]
