IN 1940, a study of the effectiveness of the school lunch in improving the nutritional status of the children in one rural school was begun, and in 1946 the first report was published.1 During this study, special attention was given to skeletal development as shown by roentgenograms of the carpal bones and epiphyses of the distal portion of the radius and ulna. The report herein presented deals with carpal and epiphysial development as another index of the nutritional status of these children.
Ossification of these centers begins soon after birth and continues to maturity, thereby furnishing a continuous measure of skeletal progress. Moreover, the carpal bones and epiphyses are so easily evaluated by roentgenograms and have been used by so many investigators in the study of skeletal development that standards and norms are available for comparison.
While the worth of roentgenography in the study of pathogenic and traumatic conditions