Relationship of Iliac Crest Maturation to Skeletal and Chronologic Age

Risser's sign, a measure of the excursion of the iliac crest apophysis, has been used to estimate remaining skeletal growth. We used the Brush-Bolton Collection to correlate iliac crest excursion with other roentgenographic standards of skeletal age. Iliac crest excursion was measured using Risser's technique. We were able to determine mean chronologic and skeletal ages for each Risser stage for boys and girls. The state of maturation of the iliac crest apophysis, together with clinical observations of secondary sexual maturation, permit an accurate assessment of skeletal maturation without the need for wrist and hand roentgenograms.