Why anatomy of the growing child differs from the adult

The growth of the child is a key aspect of human development, with striking morphological features such as changes in proportions and organ relationships within the body. The growth of the face and its relationship to the size of the skull is an obvious example of these changes. Thus the appearance of adult features such as the air sinuses and mastoid air sinuses are often overlooked in anatomical studies by students. The underlying mechanisms of growth in the skeleton will also be examined, highlighting where new concepts have been introduced from the morphological angle. This will allow the consideration of the appearance of secondary growth centres in the skeleton, especially as these are frequently applied as guides to development. Finally, the recent decades have witnessed considerable advances in our ability to examine the living anatomy using a range of imaging modalities. Again, these can be applied to examine the fetus prenatally and then to examine the growing child and the ever changing anatomical features of the body. This approach can be extended to the cellular level and again, the explosion of knowledge of cellular function at the molecular explained by genetic processes is developing a further understanding of the processes of growth and development in the growing individual.