Bone Age at 11 Years: Boy and Girl Hand X-Ray Reference
These reference radiographs show the typical appearance of the hand and wrist of a 11 year old boy and a 11 year old girl for bone age assessment. Around puberty the hand radiograph gains the last of its markers. The pisiform and the adductor sesamoid of the thumb appear, and epiphyses begin to cap their metaphyses. These findings matter clinically because they signal the approach of the pubertal growth spurt.
11 year old boy hand x-ray
In boys the pisiform usually ossifies around 12 years and the adductor sesamoid around 13 years, notably later than in girls. Epiphyses are as wide as their metaphyses and begin to cap them, while the growth plates remain clearly open.
11 year old girl hand x-ray
In girls the adductor sesamoid of the thumb typically appears around 11 years, a practical marker that the growth spurt is near. Epiphyseal capping is under way, and the earliest distal phalangeal fusion can begin toward the end of this window.
What to look for at 11 years
- Pisiform ossifies, around 10 to 11 years in girls and 12 in boys
- Adductor sesamoid of the thumb appears, around 11 years in girls and 13 in boys
- Epiphyses reach metaphyseal width and start to cap
- The sesamoid is a practical marker of the approaching growth spurt
How to use these reference images
Obtain a PA radiograph of the left hand and wrist and compare it side by side with the reference image for the matching sex. If the patient’s radiograph looks more mature, move to an older reference; if it looks less mature, move to a younger one. The best match gives the estimated bone age, which you can then combine with chronological age and current height to predict adult height.
Neighbouring ages: Bone Age at 10 Years and Bone Age at 12 Years. Browse every age point in the complete bone age atlas by age.