Bone age is the degree of maturation of a child's bones. As a person grows from fetal life through childhood, puberty, and finishes growth as a young adult, the bones of the skeleton change in size and shape. These changes can be seen by x-ray techniques. The "bone age" of a child is the average age at which children reach various stages of bone maturation. A child's current height , age and bone age can be used to predict adult height. For most children , their bone age is the approximately the same as their biological age but for some individuals, their bone age is a couple of years older or younger. Those with advanced bone ages typically hit a growth spurt early on but stop growing sooner, while those with delayed bone ages hit their growth spurt later than normal. Children who are below average height do not necessarily have a delayed bone age; in fact their bone age could actually be advanced which if left untreated, will stunt their growth. As a child grows the epiphyses become calcified and appear on the x-rays, as do the carpal and tarsal bones of the hands and feet, separated on the x-rays by a layer of invisible cartilage where most of the growth is occurring. As sex steroid levels rise during puberty, bone maturation accelerates. As growth nears completion and attainment of adult height, bones  approach the size and shape of adult bones. The remaining cartilaginous portions of the epiphyses become thinner. As these cartilaginous zones become obliterated, the epiphyses are said to be "closed" and no further lengthening of the bones will occur. A small amount of spinal growth concludes an adolescent's growth. Methods X-ray of a hand, with automatic calculation of bone age by the BoneXpert software. The most commonly used method is based on a single x-ray of the left hand, fingers, and wrist. A hand is easily x-rayed with minimal radiation and shows many bones in a single view. The bones in the x-ray are compared to the bones of a standard atlas, usually "Greulich and Pyle".Greulich WW, Pyle SI: Radiographic Atlas of Skeletal Development of the Hand and Wrist, 2nd edition. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1959. Adult height prediction Statistics have been compiled to indicate the percentage of height growth remaining at a given bone age. By simple arithmetic, a predicted adult height can be computed from a child's height and bone age. Separate tables are used for boys and girls because of the sex difference in timing of puberty, and slightly different percentages are used for children with unusually advanced or delayed bone maturation. These tables, the Bayley-Pinneau tables, are included as an appendix in the Greulich and Pyle atlas. In 2009, the Bayley-Pinneau method was modernized as a side product of the BoneXpert method for automated bone age determination. This BoneXpert Adult Height Predictor has the option of including parental height and height at menarche, and there are special versions for Asian and African children. The method is implemented as an interactive web-page
Bone age is the degree of maturation of a child's bones. As a person grows from fetal life through childhood, puberty, and finishes growth as a young adult, the bones of the skeleton change in size and shape. These changes can be seen by x-ray techniques. The "bone age" of a child is the average age at which children reach various stages of bone maturation. A child's current height and bone age can be used to predict adult height. For most people , their bone age is the same as their biological age but for some individuals, their bone age is a couple of years older or younger. Those with advanced bone ages typically hit a growth spurt early on but stop growing sooner, while those with delayed bone ages hit their growth spurt later than normal. Children who are below average height do not necessarily have a delayed bone age; in fact their bone age could actually be advanced which if left untreated, will stunt their growth. As a child grows the epiphyses become calcified and appear on the x-rays, as do the carpal and tarsal bones of the hands and feet, separated on the x-rays by a layer of invisible cartilage where most of the growth is occurring. As sex steroid levels rise during puberty, bone maturation accelerates. As growth nears conclusion and attainment of adult height, bones begin to approach the size and shape of adult bones. The remaining cartilaginous portions of the epiphyses become thinner. As these cartilaginous zones become obliterated, the epiphyses are said to be "closed" and no further lengthening of the bones will occur. A small amount of spinal growth concludes an adolescent's growth. Methods X-ray of a hand, with automatic calculation of bone age by a computer software. The most commonly used method is based on a single x-ray of the left hand, fingers, and wrist. A hand is easily x-rayed with minimal radiation and shows many bones in a single view. The bones in the x-ray are compared to the bones of a standard atlas, usually "Greulich and Pyle".Greulich WW, Pyle SI: Radiographic Atlas of Skeletal Development of the Hand and Wrist, 2nd edition. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1959. Height prediction Statistics have been compiled to indicate the percentage of height growth remaining at a given bone age. By simple arithmetic, a predicted adult height can be computed from a child's height and bone age. Separate tables are used for boys and girls because of the sex difference in timing of puberty, and slightly different percentages are used for children with unusually advanced or delayed bone maturation. These tables, the Bayley-Pinneau tables, are included as an appendix in the Greulich and Pyle atlas. In 2009, the Bayley-Pinneau method was modernized as part of the BoneXpert for automated bone age determination. It has the option of including parental height and menarche, and there is a special version for Asian children. The method is implemented as an interactive web-page
D
, age
R
children
people
D
approximately the
R
completion
conclusion
A
begin to
R
the BoneXpert
a computer
R
Adult height
Height
R
a side product
part
D
method
R
This BoneXpert Adult Height Predictor
It
D
height at
R
are special versions for Asian and African
is a special version for Asian