Time of appearance of ossification centres of the hand and wrist

ABSTRACT

A radiographic study of ossification centers of the hand and wrist was carried out at Shaikh Zayed Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lahore. Seven hundred and seventy three Pakistani children aged up to 14 years were examined. All the ossification centers of the hand and wrist [including adductor sesmoid of thumb] appeared at a mean age of 11 years in females and 13.5 years in males. The mean time of appearance of ossification centers, which was earlier than most of the European and African countries, was found to be 0.5 to 2.5 years earlier in females than in males. However, the carpal bones showed late appearance in the present study as compared to the reports from western countries