OSSIFICATION OF THE HYOID BONE DURING CHILDHOOD

Normal ossification of the hyoid bone was studied on the basis of post partum radiographs of lo stillborn children and radiographs of the cer vical spine or the lateral neck of 86 children ranging in age from new born to 16 years old. None of the patients was suspected of having any abnormality of skeletal ossification. Ossification of the hyoid was s een only after 30 weeks' gestation. The body of the hyoid was ossified in all infants older than 4 months, and the greater cornua were ossif ied in all those older than 6 months. Ossification of the lesser cornu a did not appear in children less than 15 years of age. Normal measure ments for the body of the hyoid and the greater cornua were determined .