Normal growth in height and size results from the complex interplay of many intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the innate, genetically determined capacity for growth of an individual. The ultimate height of a person is a function not only of the rate of linear growth of the bones, but also of its duration.
The growth of an individual from birth to adulthood may be pictorially represented in a height distance chart (Fig. 14.1). All normal children follow such a growth curve.
To determine the rate of growth of an individual child, a number of height measurements should be made at regular intervals: for instance, twice in one year.
