Linear growth of long bones of extremities from infancy through adolescence; continuing studies.

Abstract

A preliminary report on the growth of the major long bones of the extremities in healthy children was published in 19431as part of the Child Research Council study of physical growth. At that time it was hoped that a few more years' study of these and other children would answer many questions about the pattern of long-bone growth, how growth differed in boys and girls, what the variations in bodily proportions were, and how they changed with growth and age. The measurements of bone lengths from roentgenograms of the extremities have been uninterrupted since 1935, and there are now sufficient data to warrant a report on the study to date. But this present paper must be termed only a progress report, since it supports some of the preliminary conclusions, refutes others, and leaves many unanswered. Separate standards of reference for boys and girls suggest some sex differences in