How to determine whether the epiphyseal line is closed?

If you don't understand the physiological structure of the human body, you may not know where the epiphyseal line is located in the human body. According to reports, the epiphyseal line is the area between the epiphysis and the metaphysis. It is a piece of cartilage. When infants and young children take X-rays, the epiphyseal line appears as a transparent light band. As the baby grows up, the epiphyseal line will close. So how do you judge whether the epiphyseal line is closed?

How to determine whether the epiphyseal line is closed?

There is a disc-shaped cartilage structure between the metaphysis and epiphysis of the long bones of children's limbs, called the epiphyseal plate.

Epiphysis are secondary ossification centers that appear at varying times after birth.

The epiphysis and epiphyseal plate are the growth areas of the immature long bones of the limbs.

It is also the weakest and most vulnerable part of children's bones.

Epiphyseal injury can cause limb growth disorders, leading to limb shortening or joint deformities.

The epiphysis and epiphyseal plate are both growth areas of the immature long bones of the limbs.

Each long bone of a child has epiphyseal lines at both ends, which are bone tissues that grow rapidly.

As you age, the epiphyseal line disappears naturally.

That is, the epiphyseal line is closed, which actually means that the natural potential for height growth has been lost.

Description: Age, bones, connections

Mechanism: As age increases, the soft connecting structures between joints become adhered and hardened.

Due to the linear growth of bones, the cartilage at both ends of the long bones continues to grow, the epiphyseal cartilage continues to secrete osteoblasts and gradually ossifies, the bones continue to grow, and the child grows taller accordingly. After adulthood, all the epiphyseal cartilages are ossified, and the backbone and epiphysis become one, which is called epiphyseal line closure. The bones no longer grow, and people stop growing taller. Therefore, a person's height is more related to bone maturity, that is, bone age, rather than actual age. Medically, a child's growth potential can be predicted by judging the degree of skeletal maturity, and height can be predicted by bone age. This examination is a routine examination item in the pediatric endocrinology department.

Bone age cannot be determined by the naked eye and requires examination through X-rays. There are a large number of long bones and short bones concentrated in the hands and wrists, which reflect the growth and maturation of bones throughout the body. In clinical practice, wrist bone films are often used to determine bone age.