Human growth and development

Definition

In the context of the physical development of children, growth refers to the increase in the size
of a child, and development refers to the process by which the child develops his or her
psychomotor skills.

Growth

The period of human growth from birth to adolescence is commonly divided into the following
stages:

 Infancy: From birth to weaning.

 Childhood: From weaning to the end of brain growth.
 Juvenile: From the end of childhood to adolescence.
 Adolescence: From the start of growth spurt at puberty until sexual maturity.

Growth curves are used to measure growth. The distance curve is a measure of size over time;
it records height as a function of age and gets higher with age. The velocity curve measures the
rate of growth at a given time for a particular body feature (such as height or weight). The
height velocity curve is highest in infancy, up to two years of age, with more consistent annual
growth afterwards and increases again at puberty. The height of the average infant increases by
30% by the age of five months and by 50% by the age of one year. The height of a five-year-old
usually doubles relative to that at birth. The limbs and arms grow faster than the trunk, so that
body proportions undergo marked variation as an infant grows into an adolescent. Different
body systems grow and develop at different rates. For example, if infants grew in height as
quickly as they do in weight, the average one-year-old would be approximately 5 ft (1.5m) tall.
Thus, weight increases faster than height—an average infant doubles his birth weight by the
age of five months and triples it by the age of one year. At two years of age, the weight is
usually four times the weight at birth.

Physical development

During the growth period, all major body systems also mature. The major changes occur in the
following systems:

 Skeletal system. At birth, there is very little bone mass in the infant body, the bones are softer
(cartilagenous) and much more flexible than in the adult. The adult skeleton consists of 206
bones joined to ligaments and tendons. It provides support for the attached muscles and the
soft tissues of the body. Babies are born with 270 soft bones that eventually fuse together by
the age of 20 into the 206 hard, adult bones.
 Lymphatic system . The lymphatic system has several functions. It acts as the body's defense
mechanism by producing white blood cells and specialized cells (antibodies) that destroy
foreign organisms that cause disease. It grows at a constant and rapid rate throughout
childhood, reaching maturity just before puberty. The amount of lymphatic tissue then
decreases so that an adult has approximately 50% less than a child.
 Central nervous system (CNS). The CNS consists of the brain, the cranial nerves, and the spinal
cord . It develops mostly during the first years of life. Although brain cell formation is almost
complete before birth, brain maturation continues after birth. The brain of the newborn is not
yet fully developed. It contains about 100 billion brain cells that have yet to be connected into
functioning networks. But brain development up to age one is more rapid and extensive than
was previously
 realized. At birth, the brain of the infant is 25% of the adult size. At the age of one year,
the brain has grown to 75% of its adult size and to 80% by age three, reaching 90% by
age seven. The influence of the early environment on brain development is crucial.
Infants exposed to good nutrition , toys, and playmates have better brain function at
age 12 than those raised in a less stimulating environment.

Psychomotor development

During the first year of life, a baby goes through a series of crucial stages to develop physical
coordination. This development usually proceeds cephalocaudally, that is from head to toe. For
example, the visual system reaches maturity earlier than do the legs. First, the infant develops
control of the head, then of the trunk (sitting up), then of the body (standing), and, finally, of
the legs (walking). Development also proceeds proximodistally, that is from the center of the
body outward. For example, the head and trunk of the body develop before the arms and legs,
and infants learn to control their neck muscles before they learn to direct their limbs. This
development of physical coordination is also referred to as motor development and it occurs
together with cognitive development, meaning the development of processes such as knowing,
learning, thinking, and judging.

Growth is the physical aspect while human development is not only physical but, psychological,
social, cognitive aspects also.

increase in body size

During the adolescent spurt in height, for a year or more, the velocity of growth approximately
doubles; a boy is likely to be growing again at the rate he last experienced about age two.
The peak velocity of height (P.H.V., a point much used in growth studies) averages about 10.5
centimetres per year in boys and 9.0 centimetres in girls (about 4 and 3.4 inches, respectively),
but this is the “instantaneous” peak given by a smooth curve drawn through the observations.
The velocity over the whole year encompassing the six months before and after the peak is
naturally somewhat less. During this year a boy usually grows between 7 and 12 centimetres
 (2.75 and 4.75 inches) and a girl between 6 and 11 centimetres (2.35 and 4.35 inches). Children
who have their peak early reach a somewhat higher peak than those who have it late.
The average age at which the peak is reached depends on the nature and circumstances of the
group studied more, probably, than does the height of the peak. In moderately well-off British
or North American children at present the peak occurs on average at about 14.0 years in boys
and 12.0 years in girls. Though the absolute average ages differ from population to population,
the two-year sex difference always persists.

Practically all skeletal and muscular dimensions take part in the spurt, though not to an equal
degree. Most of the spurt in height is due to acceleration of trunk length rather than of length
of legs. There is a fairly regular order in which the dimensions accelerate; leg length as a rule
reaches its peak first, followed by the body breadths, with shoulder width last. The earliest
structures to reach their adult status are the head, hands, and feet.
The spurt in muscle, of both limbs and heart, coincides with the spurt in skeletal growth, for
both are caused by the same hormones. Boys’ muscle widths reach a peak velocity of growth
that is greater than that reached by girls. But, since girls have their spurt earlier, there is
actually a period, from about 121/2 to 131/2, when girls on average have larger muscles than
boys of the same age, as well as being taller. Simultaneously with the spurt there is a loss of fat,
as described above.
The marked increase in muscle size in boys at adolescence leads to an increase in strength.
Before adolescence, boys and girls are similar in strength for a given body size and shape; after,
boys have much greater strength, probably due to development of more force per gram of
muscle as well as to absolutely larger muscles. They also develop larger hearts and lungs
relative to their size, a higher systolic blood pressure (the pressure resulting from a heart
contraction), a lower resting heart rate, a greater capacity for carrying oxygen in the blood with
more hemoglobin, and a greater power for neutralizing the chemical products of muscular
exercise such as lactic acid. In short, the male becomes at adolescence more adapted for the
tasks of hunting, fighting, and manipulating all sorts of heavy objects, as is necessary in some
forms of food gathering.
It is as a direct result of these anatomical and physiological changes that athletic ability
increases so much in boys at adolescence. The popular notion of a boy’s “outgrowing his
strength” at this time has little scientific support. It is true that the peak velocity of strength is
reached a year or so later than that of height, so that a short period may exist when the
adolescent, having completed his skeletal and probably also his muscular growth, still does not
have the strength of a young adult of the same body size and shape. But this is a temporary
phase; considered absolutely, power, athletic skill, and physical endurance all increase
progressively and rapidly throughout adolescence.

Lymphoid tissue
ANATOMY
WRITTEN BY:
 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
See Article History

Lymphoid tissue, cells and organs that make up the lymphatic system, such as white blood cells
(leukocytes), bone marrow, and the thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes.

The

Lymphoid tissue has several different structural organizations related to its particular function
in the immune response. The most highly organized lymphoid tissues are in the thymus and
lymph nodes, which are well-defined encapsulated organs with easily identifiable architectures.
In the spleen (a soft, purplish organ lying high in the abdomen), the lymphoid tissue is a cylinder
of loosely organized cells surrounding small arteries. In the bone marrow this tissue is mixed
with the blood-forming cells, and no organization is apparent. The most diffuse lymphoid tissue
is found in the loose connective-tissue spaces beneath most wet epithelial membranes, such as
those that line the gastrointestinal tract and the respiratory system. In these spaces many cells
of the lymphatic system wander and become exposed to invading microorganisms and foreign
material. They can establish localized centres of cell production in response to such invasions.
These are referred to as nodules and are not to be confused with nodes, an entirely different
structure. Some nodules become relatively permanent structures, such as the tonsils, appendix,
and Peyer’s patches, which are in the lining of the small intestine. Most nodules appear and
disappear in response to local needs.

homeliness

noun [ U ]

UK

/ˈhəʊm.li.nəs/ US

/ˈhoʊm.li.nəs/

homeliness noun [U] (PLAIN)

UK

the quality of being simple or ordinary, but pleasant, in a way that makes you think of home:

The farmhouse combines nostalgia and homeliness.

I loved the warm homeliness of the story.

homely
[ hohm-lee ]SHOW IPA

SEE SYNONYMS FOR homely ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, home·li·er, home·li·est.

lacking in physical attractiveness; not beautiful; unattractive:a homely child.

not having elegance, refinement, or cultivation.

proper or suited to the home or to ordinary domestic life; plain; unpretentious:homely food.

commonly seen or known.