growth
(grōth)
To hear audio pronunciation of this topic, purchase a subscription or log in.
Development, maturation, or expansion of physical structures or cognitive and psychosocial abilities. The process may be normal, as in the development of a fetus or a child, or pathological, as in a cyst or malignant tumor.
GROWTH OF INTERNAL ORGANS
General body growth is seen in the increase in bodily size and in the total weight of the muscles and of the internal organs. Growth is usually slow and steady but has a marked acceleration just after birth and at the time of puberty (the growth spurt).
Lymphoid organs (such as the thymus and the lymph nodes) grow fastest early in life, reach their peak of development at about the age of 12, and then stop growing or regress.
The brain, spinal cord, eye, and meninges grow in childhood but reach adult size by the age of 8. This size is maintained without regression.
The testes, ovaries, and other genitourinary structures grow slowly in infancy, but at puberty they develop rapidly and cause the striking changes in appearance that make up the secondary sex characteristics.
There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.
Citation
Venes, Donald, editor. "Growth." Taber's Medical Dictionary, 24th ed., F.A. Davis Company, 2021. Nursing Central, nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral/view/Tabers-Dictionary/764324/2/growth.
Growth. In: Venes DD, ed. Taber's Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company; 2021. https://nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral/view/Tabers-Dictionary/764324/2/growth. Accessed December 27, 2024.
Growth. (2021). In Venes, D. (Ed.), Taber's Medical Dictionary (24th ed.). F.A. Davis Company. https://nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral/view/Tabers-Dictionary/764324/2/growth
Growth [Internet]. In: Venes DD, editors. Taber's Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company; 2021. [cited 2024 December 27]. Available from: https://nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral/view/Tabers-Dictionary/764324/2/growth.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - growth
ID - 764324
ED - Venes,Donald,
BT - Taber's Medical Dictionary
UR - https://nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral/view/Tabers-Dictionary/764324/2/growth
PB - F.A. Davis Company
ET - 24
DB - Nursing Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -