How does bone deposition occur in the mandible during growth?

Correct answer: D. Along the anterior side of the body

• A. Incorrect – bone cannot grow interstitially (it is mineralised); it grows only by surface apposition/resorption (appositional growth).
• B. Incorrect – the anterior border of the ramus is a RESORPTIVE field, not a depository one. This is the key trap.
• C. Incorrect. Mandibular growth is regional and selective (deposition vs. resorption at specific surfaces), not uniform concentric apposition.
• D. Correct (best available option). The ramus relocates posteriorly by DEPOSITION on its POSTERIOR border and RESORPTION on its ANTERIOR border, which lengthens the body anteroposteriorly and creates room for erupting molars. None of the three options names the posterior ramus directly, so the body-deposition option is the only one that is not factually wrong.