Ossification centers of the elbow

Changed by Naim Qaqish, 20 Jan 2021

Updates to Article Attributes

Body was changed:

Show markup changes

There are six ossification centres of the elbow that appear and develop in a relatively reproducible fashion, and are key to assessment of the paediatric elbow radiograph. Timing of their appearance varies in the literature but an approximation is given below. A useful mnemonic to remember the order of development is CRITOL or CRITOE (see video below).

capitellum: 2-24 months
radial head: 3-6 years
internal (medial) epicondyle: 4-7 years
trochlea: 8-10 years
olecranon 8-10 years
external (lateral) epicondyle: 10-13 years

+</ul><h6>See also</h6><ul>
+<li><p><a title="Elbow ossification (mnemonic)" href="/articles/elbow-ossification-mnemonic">CRITOE / CRITOL mnemonic</a></p></li>
+<li><p><a title="Come Rub My Tree Of Love (mnemonic)" href="/articles/elbow-ossification-mnemonic">Come Rub My Tree Of Love (mnemonic)</a></p></li>

ADVERTISEMENT: Supporters see fewer/no ads

{"current_user":null,"inclusions":[{"imageId":62298198,"studyId":136462,"caseSlug":"elbow-ossification-centers","caption":"Frontal","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/62298198/0bdbccc836d376bd26a8f4d12372d66f787b7400439baa0108b3c0123fd8dce5_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":true,"diagnosticCertainty":"not_applicable"},{"imageId":62298201,"studyId":136462,"caseSlug":"elbow-ossification-centers","caption":"Lateral","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/62298201/2351cf74ae727bf78f8917b91f9303c93d853a3096747fa3c75f2875d3ba0fc8_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":true,"diagnosticCertainty":"not_applicable"},{"imageId":57160546,"studyId":117420,"caseSlug":"paediatric-elbow-anatomy-illustrations","caption":"Labeled anatomy (illustration)","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/57160546/1._big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":true,"diagnosticCertainty":"not_applicable"},{"imageId":57160548,"studyId":117420,"caseSlug":"paediatric-elbow-anatomy-illustrations","caption":"Labeled anatomy (illustration)","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/57160548/1._big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":true,"diagnosticCertainty":"not_applicable"},{"imageId":2751872,"studyId":20836,"caseSlug":"elbow-radiograph-age-two","caption":"Age 2","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/2751872/bf2644834a28a8c290a9f31bdb4597_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":false,"diagnosticCertainty":"not_applicable"},{"imageId":2751886,"studyId":20837,"caseSlug":"elbow-radiograph-age-four","caption":"Age 4","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/2751886/b7a788f4e41748dddc5703afa891b8_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":false,"diagnosticCertainty":"not_applicable"},{"imageId":2751893,"studyId":20838,"caseSlug":"elbow-radiograph-age-five","caption":"Age 5","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/2751893/a0f9ca4fbe4a2a7bfe835c30b7236b_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":false,"diagnosticCertainty":"not_applicable"},{"imageId":2751900,"studyId":20839,"caseSlug":"elbow-radiograph-age-nine","caption":"Age 9","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/2751900/0fa6668f5dfbcb8dee634c8c3df869_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":false,"diagnosticCertainty":"not_applicable"},{"imageId":2751907,"studyId":20840,"caseSlug":"elbow-radiograph-age-eleven","caption":"Age 11","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/2751907/2beaa6f3d81c0fa4bf58c198ccbd5c_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":false,"diagnosticCertainty":"not_applicable"}],"ddx_inclusions":[],"lang":"us"}

Updating… Please wait.

Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.

Thank you for updating your details.

Ossification centers of the elbow

Updates to Article Attributes

See also

Articles

By Section:

By System:

Cases

Radiopaedia.org