Radiographics 2022 May-Jun;42(3):861-879. Epub 2022 Feb 25.
From the Divisions of Musculoskeletal Radiology (A.C.d.L.A., P.C.K.G., M.A.F.C., A.C.O.R., L.C.P., A.Y.A.) and Pediatric Radiology (M.S.T., T.D.G.), Laboratório Delboni Auriemo, DASA, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, UNIFESP, São Paulo, Brazil (A.C.d.L.A., A.Y.A.); Department of Radiology, St. Paul's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (D.V.F.); Department of Medical Imaging, Hematology and Clinical Oncology Ribeirão Preto Medical School, USP Ribeirão Preto, Brazil (M.H.N.B.); and Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Missouri Health Care, Columbia, Mo (M.H.N.B.).
The growing skeleton undergoes well-described and predictable normal developmental changes, which may be misinterpreted a as pathologic condition at imaging. Primary and secondary ossification centers (SOCs), which form the diaphysis and the epiphysis of long bones, respectively, are formed by endochondral and intramembranous ossification processes. During skeletal maturation, the SOCs may appear irregular and fragmented, which should not be confused with fractures, osteochondritis dissecans, and osteochondrosis. Read More