# @nickpappasmd on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DbgS8MLuQ-h
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/68560235-nickpappasmd-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/33b111c2bb.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-08-01T16:44:28.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Nick Pappas, MD (@nickpappasmd) — https://gondola.cc/nickpappasmd

## Caption

🦴 Ever notice that it looks like babies don’t have wrist bones on an X-ray?

Don’t worry—they absolutely do! 👶

The reason you can’t see them is that most of the carpal (wrist) bones are still made of cartilage, and cartilage doesn’t show up on a standard X-ray. So while it may look like the wrist is “missing bones,” they’re actually there—they just haven’t ossified yet.

🩻 As babies grow, those cartilage models gradually get replaced by bone through endochondral ossification, allowing the carpal bones to become visible on X-rays over time.

💡 Here’s an interesting anatomy fact:
• Long bones (like the radius and ulna) develop with primary and later secondary ossification centers.
• Carpal bones are different. They also form by endochondral ossification, but they do not have separate primary and secondary ossification centers. Instead, each carpal bone develops from a single ossification center.

📈 One of the coolest parts? Pediatric orthopedic surgeons and radiologists can often estimate a child’s age just by looking at a hand or wrist X-ray and seeing which carpal bones have ossified. The appearance of these ossification centers follows a predictable timeline as children grow.

🤯 Pretty amazing how much information a single X-ray can reveal!

👇 Did you know babies’ wrist bones are there all along—they’re just invisible on X-rays?

#Orthopedics #Pediatrics #Radiology #MedicalEducation #Anatomy

## Stats

- **Views:** 53,387
- **Likes:** 660
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- **Comments:** 9

## Tags

radiology, medicaleducation, anatomy, pediatrics, orthopedics

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