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.
Osteochondromas or osteocartilaginous exostoses are the most common benign tumors of the bones. The tumors take the form of cartilage-capped bony projections or outgrowth on the surface of bones. It is characterized as a type of overgrowth that can occur in any bone where cartilage forms bone. Tumors most commonly affect long bones in the leg, pelvis, or scapula. Development of osteochondromas take place during skeletal growth between the ages of 13 and 15 and ceases when the growth plate fuses