A Radioautographic Study of Chondrocytic Proliferation in Nasal Septal Cartilage of the Prenatal Rat

Abstract

Six pregnant female Sprague-Dawley rats were labeled with tritiated [hymidine and killed, one each day for the final six gestational days prior to birth. Nasal septal cartilages of thirty pups (five from each litter) were monitored radioautographically for cellular proliferation. It was found that septalgrowth was greatest on prenatal day 17 and least on day 21. There was no specific area in the septal cartilage that could be identified as a growth center. The mechanisms governing facial morphogenesis are unknown. Numerous studies (Babula et al.