Images Dated 31st May 2000

Child hand X-ray

Child's hand bones (3 year old). Coloured X-ray showing the bones in the hand of a three year old child. Bones appear white. This child's hand reveals wide spaces of cartilage between each finger bone at each joint, where bone growth and ossification (bone formation) must still take place. Only a few wrist bones (centre left) are visible as a number of them are made almost entirely of cartilage at this age. As the child gets older the bones will lengthen and ossify to be easily seen on X-ray and the joint spaces will close to form the adult pattern. At far left are the radius and ulna bones of the forearm

© CNRI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY