While playing on her swing set, 10-year-old Sally falls and breaks her right leg. At the emergency room, the doctor tells her parents that the proximal end of the tibia where the epiphysis meets the diaphysis is fractured. The fracture is properly set and eventually heals. During a routine physical when she is 18, Sally learns that her right leg is 2 cm shorter than her left, probably because of her accident. What might account for this difference?

Frank does not enter puberty until he is 16. What effect would you predict this will have on his stature?

(a) Frank will probably be taller than if he had started puberty earlier.

(b) Frank will probably be shorter than if he had started puberty earlier.

(c) Frank will probably be a dwarf.

(d) Frank will have bones that are heavier than normal.

e) The late onset of puberty will have no effect on Frank's stature.

Why does a second fracture in the same bone tend to occur at a site different from that of the first fracture?

Why would a physician be concerned about the growth patterns of a young child request an x-ray of the hand?

Exposure to optimum amounts of sunlight is necessary for proper bone maintenance and growth in children.

(b) If a child lives in an area where exposure to sunlight is rare because of pollution or overcast skies, what can be done to minimize impaired maintenance and growth of bone?

Which of the following conditions would you possibly observe in a child who is suffering from rickets?

(a) Abnormally short limbs

(b) Abnormally long limbs

(c) Oversized facial bones

(d) Bowed legs

(e) Weak, brittle bones

The process of bone growth at the epiphyseal cartilage is similar to:

(a) Intramembranous ossification

(b) Endochondral ossification

(c) The process of osteopenia

(d) The process of healing a fracture

(e) The process of calcification