It is a common belief that chondrocyte death must precede calcification in the growth plate. To challenge this dogma, cell devitalization was induced in an in vitro model that mimics in situ cartilage calcification. Chick limb-bud mesenchymal cells, plated in micromass culture, differentiate to form a cartilaginous matrix which mineralizes in the presence of inorganic or organic phosphate. The mineral formed resembles physiologic mineral in crystal size, composition, and distribution. Killing cells by water lysis, ethanol fixation, freeze-thawing, trypsinization, or impairing their function by oligomycin treatment prior to the time at which mineralization commenced, prevented mineral deposition. In contrast, devitalizing cells by any of these techniques after mineralization commenced resulted in dystrophic calcification (excessive, randomly distributed mineral of larger than physiologic crystal size). Based on analyses of 45Ca uptake, FT-IR microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy, it is concluded that the presence of viable cells is obligatory for physiologic cartilage calcification in the differentiating chick limb-bud mesenchymal cell culture system.