Contributions of the radiographic image to our knowledge of human growth.

Radiography has brought about marked advances in our knowledge of human growth offering information on sequence and timing as well as changes in dimensions and proportions and segmental and "relative" growth. Not only has it been possible to measure growth rates and changes in relative rates at the two ends of a single bone and in homologous bones across the body axis, but it has also been practical to measure rates of bone loss (due to malnutrition and malabsorption) in the presence of simultaneous bone gain. Careful and detailed analysis of the radiographic image, the use of radiogrammetric techniques and extension of the same techniques to the fetal skeleton has afforded new knowledge on continuing growth throughout the life span and on the earliest (fetal) attainment of adult bone shapes and proportions.