label: Abnormal metatarsal ossification
label_lc: abnormal metatarsal ossification
description: "Any abnormal process of ossification of the metatarsal bones, which normally are each ossified from two centers: one for the body, and one for the head (metatarsal II,III,IV, and V) and one for the body and one for the base (metatarsal I). The ossification process begins in the center of the body about the ninth week, and extends toward either extremity. The center for the base of the first metatarsal appears about the third year, and the centers for the heads of the other bones between the fifth and eighth years. They join the bodies between the eighteenth and twentieth years."