title: A comparison of hand growth in elementary schoolchildren in Czechoslovakia and the United States.
abstract: Studies have been made of the growth patterns of hands of elementary schoolchildren in Czechoslovakia (1707 children) and in the United States (1641 children). This paper compares the results of these studies and summarizes the patterns of growth for both hands of boys and girls aged from five to 12 years. The results indicate that the United States children generally have shorter and wider hands than their Czech counterparts. In both countries, boys have wider hands than girls, although there is evidence that at ages 11 and 12 years the girls' hands are longer. Growth spurts in both width and length measurements are apparent in children's hands in both countries, but the spurt often occurs at an earlier age in Czech children. Awareness of these general patterns of hand growth should be of assistance to the hand surgeon.
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003604:Czechoslovakia; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States