Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 17, 2026

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid
Published on: August 8, 2017
Views on Antlers Then and Now: Past and Present Concepts of Their Development and Histogenesis
Uwe Kierdorf1, Horst Kierdorf1
1Department of Biology, University of Hildesheim, 31141 Hildesheim, Germany.
Abstract:
Antlers are regularly replaced bony appendages that are grown, cast and regenerated from permanent outgrowths (pedicles) of the frontal bones of male deer (and female reindeer/caribou, Rangifer tarandus). Their enormous growth rate, periodic epimorphic regeneration, tight association with the reproductive cycle in species from temperate and arctic regions, and low susceptibility to carcinogenesis make antlers highly interesting study subjects for different scientific disciplines, including bone biology, regenerative medicine and cancer research. The exceptional properties of antlers have fascinated scholars since the time of Aristotle, and in the past, many prominent scientists expressed their views on these "improbable appendages". This contribution reviews some historical concepts related to the development and histogenesis of antlers and contrasts them with our currently held views on these issues. In doing so, we attempt to provide today's antler scientists with a sense of the long research tradition in the field and to demonstrate how our current ideas on the mechanisms underlying the development and regeneration of antlers have evolved.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Sutures of the Skull
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...
Threats to Biodiversity
Cranial Bones: Lateral View
The temporal bone forms the lower lateral side of the skull. The temporal bone is subdivided into several regions. The flattened upper portion is the squamous portion of the temporal bone. Below this area and projecting anteriorly is the zygomatic process of the temporal bone, which forms the posterior portion of the zygomatic arch. Posteriorly is the mastoid portion of the temporal bone. Projecting...
Cranial Bones: Superior and Posterior View
The frontal bone is the single bone that forms the forehead. At its anterior midline, between the eyebrows, there is a slight depression called the glabella. The frontal bone also forms the supraorbital margin of the orbit. Near the middle of this margin is the supraorbital foramen, the opening that provides passage for a sensory nerve to the forehead. The frontal bone is thickened just above each supraorbital margin,...
Bone Formation by Endochondral Ossification
Bone Markings
Articulating Projections
Articulating projections are found where two bones meet to form a joint. These structures are usually found at the ends of bones. The largest articulation is a rounded projection called the head, supported by a narrow neck at the ends of...

