Race and stature differences in the skeletal maturation of the hand and wrist

SummaryLevels of maturity of 22 bones of the hand and wrist in children aged 5 to 10 years were compared by considering the differences between each bone-specific assessment (Greulich and Pyle, 1959) and the mean of all 22 bones. After elimination of the effects due to observer bias, atlas singularities, and age, comparisons were made by race (white, black, and Oriental) and stature. In all comparisons, distinct row or area effects were found, with some evidence of ray gradients also. The pattern differences between white and black children were more pronounced than those between whites and Orientals, or those among the stature groups of whites and blacks. The white-black differences were great enough to provide the basis for an effective discriminant function. The total variation in maturity within the hand (the “disharmony” or “imbalance”) differs in blacks from such variation in the other races.