Cervical vertebral dimensions in 8-, 11-, and 15-year-old children.

In a sample of 107 boys and girls registered at 8, 11, and 15 years of age and 22 adults the statural height and the height and length of the cervical vertebrae, measured from lateral skull radiographs, were studied. The height and length of the vertebrae increased with age among the children and were non-significantly higher for the girls in each age group. The 15-year-old girls matured earlier, reaching adult values at this age. The 15-year-old boys still showed significantly smaller values for vertebral height and length compared with the adult men. Statural height was significantly correlated with the variables for vertebral growth at 8 and 11 years, whereas there was no correlation at 15 years of age among the children who had passed the pubertal peak height. The development of the vertebrae showed similarities with earlier reported skeletal maturity indicators found in the hand-wrist area and could as such offer an alternative method of assessing maturity without the need for hand roentgenograms.