Standards of Skeletal Maturity of the Ankle and Foot in the First two Years of Life in Spanish Children

Abstract

The object of this paper is to present preliminary results of studies of skeletal maturity in children of less than two years of age, as part of the Orbegozo Growth Study in Bilbao. Our opinion is that none of the existing methods is particularly adequate for this age. We have therefore developed a new method of assessment, using a lateral view of the ankle and foot, because the talus and the calcaucus are always present in normal full-term infants. Other, centers — such as the cuboid, the third cuneiform, the distal tibial epiphysis, the distal fibular epiphysis, the first cuneiform, the second cuneiform and the navicular — appear successively in this period of life. Furthermore, this method takes into account the dose of gonadal radiation which is minimal in this area.