Gastrointestinal: Adjective referring collectively to the stomach and small and large intestines. The commonly used abbreviation for gastrointestinal is GI. (Outside of medicine, GI can also stand for galvanized iron, general issue or government issue-as in GI Joe).
Before the extracellular matrix is calcified, the tissue is called osteoid (bone-like) tissue. When the concentrations of calcium and phosphate ions rise high enough, they are deposited into the extracellular matrix, and the bone calcifies.
Also called osteocartilaginous exostoses, osteochondroma is an overgrowth of cartilage and bone near the end of the bone near the growth plate. This type of overgrowth can occur in any bone where cartilage eventually forms bone. Most commonly, it affects the long bones in the leg, the pelvis, or scapula (shoulder blade). Osteochondroma is the most common benign (noncancerous) bone growth. The lesion usually occurs during skeletal growth between the ages of 10 and 30 years. It affects males and females equally.