Premature fusion of the radial epiphyseal plates

What it means

A premature fusion of the epiphyseal plates of the radius. Epiphyseal plates are located at the distal and proximal ends of the long bones, in this case of the radius and premature fusion will have an effect on the growh of the radial bone, inhibiting or at least disturbing the normal growth and development of the bone.

The epiphyseal plate (or epiphysial plate, physis, or growth plate) is a hyaline cartilage plate in the metaphysis at each end of a long bone. The plate is found in children and adolescents; in adults, who have stopped growing, the plate is replaced by an epiphyseal line. The growth plate has a very specific morphology in having a zonal arrangement. The growth plate includes a relatively inactive reserve zone at the epiphyseal end, moving distally into a proliferative and then hyper trophic zone and ending with a band of ossifying cartilage (the metaphysis).

Rare diseases that can present with this1

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category