Antler Anatomy

“The covering of the growing antler takes on the appearance of shiny velvet because sparse hairs grow straight out and are coated with oily secretions from the hair follicle. Beneath the velvet epidermis and dermis of the growing antler is a thick, fibrous protective membrane, called perichondrium when it covers the cartilaginous growth stage and periosteum when it covers the bony stage of the growing antler. Beneath the velvet and perichondrium lies the mesenchyme growth zone, an area of rapid cell generation and growth. In the chondroprogenitor region these young cells begin to differentiate into chondrocytes and to form the columnar structure characteristic of cartilage and bone. The enlarged and columnar chondrocytes then begin the process of mineralization. Once mineralized, chondroclasts resorb the cartilage, and bone is laid down on the remaining “scaffold” by osteoblasts.”

-Mississippi State University