Compared with the Greulich and Pyle atlas method, the principal advantage of the Tanner-Whitehouse method of skeletal age estimation is that it:
- A Assigns individual maturity scores to specific bones, reducing dependence on a single reference population ✓
- B Requires only a knee radiograph instead of a hand-wrist radiograph
- C Uses dental development instead of skeletal development
- D Can be applied without any reference standards once puberty is reached
Correct answer: A. Assigns individual maturity scores to specific bones, reducing dependence on a single reference population
Explanation
The Tanner-Whitehouse method scores individual bones of the hand and wrist, typically the radius, ulna and thirteen short bones, against defined maturity stages and sums them into a bone maturity score. This bone-by-bone scoring reduces the population bias inherent in matching a whole radiograph to a single atlas plate, which is the main criticism of Greulich and Pyle. It still requires hand-wrist radiographs and published reference standards.
Reference: Textbook of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Krishan Vij, 5th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
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