Subjects were healthy, middle-class Americans, mostly of northwest European descent. The nutrient foramen in the cortex provides the site of entry for the nutrient vessel and is a fixed point in the long bone. Growth occurring at each growth plate was measured in relation to the nutrient foramen. The proportion of growth from each upper extremity growth plate is not equal. Also, growth plate activity is not constant or average throughout the growth period.
Growth occurs one or two years earlier in females than in males.