bone age

Bone age is the age of bone development obtained by X-ray imaging of specific areas of a child's wrist bones, such as the radius and distal ulna, and comparing the maturity of the bones with standard charts.

Bone age reflects the actual development level of a child's bones. Bone age is closely related to the growth and development of children. Bone age assessment is important for judging whether children are normal in growth and development, predicting future height, assessing sexual development and diagnosing certain endocrine diseases. Under normal circumstances, bone age should increase at the same rate as actual age, i.e., about 1 year per year. However, in some cases, such as growth hormone deficiency, precocious puberty, or hypothyroidism, bone age may increase or decrease, affecting the child's height and sexual development.

Bone age assessment is usually performed in a hospital by a specialist radiologist or pediatrician. First, the doctor takes an X-ray of the child's wrist, and then carefully observes the shape, density, and closure of the epiphysis. Next, the doctor compares the X-ray with a standard atlas to determine bone age based on the maturity of the bone.