Mechanical stress may initiate osteoderm development in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

Osteoderms are bones that form in the dermis of several species, but their development and function are not well understood. Comparing cellular and molecular events that initiate and drive pathologies similarly characterized by ossification of soft tissues (heterotopic ossification) may provide insight into how osteoderms develop. It is thought that the origin of some heterotopic ossification lesions is mediated through mechanotransduction, or the conversion of mechanical forces on the extracellular matrix (ECM) to biochemical signals that initiate bone formation.