Research Areas

Natural History Resources Help to Provide Answers to Today’s Research Questions

The Division of Orthopaedics at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s has access to two historical osteological collections: the Hamann Todd Osteological Collection and the Bolton Brush Longitudinal Growth Study. These collections allow our research team to ask and answer questions regarding osseous anatomy and normal growth that cannot be queried using standard clinical datasets.

Hamann Todd Collection

The Hamann Todd Osteological Collection is a world-famous collection housed at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and has been a research interest of our pediatric orthopaedic division for more than 25 years. The collection contains a wide range of  well-organized and preserved skeletons from the unclaimed dead of Cleveland from the early 20th century. Nearly every skeleton has a chronological age, sex, and race assigned, and approximately 100  of the skeletons are ages 18 years or younger. This collection has allowed us to study various anatomical parameters and their association with disease states like  degenerative joint disease, in addition to  enabling the study of the normal anatomy of various growth plates. This highly respected research has  drawn  awards from the European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society, the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. A sampling of studies is listed below:

• An anatomic study of the epiphyseal tubercle and its importance in the pathogenesis of slipped capital femoral epiphysis
• Anatomic Investigation of Commonly Used Landmarks for Evaluating Rotation During Forearm Fracture Reduction
• The association between femoral neck shaft angle and degenerative disease of the hip in a cadaveric model
• Decreased and increased relative acetabular volume predict the development of osteoarthritis of the hip: an osteological review of 1090 hips
• Clavicle Fractures are Associated With Arthritis of the Glenohumeral Joint in a Large Osteological Collection
• Femoral Version and Tibial Torsion are Not Associated With Hip or Knee Arthritis in a Large Osteological Collection
• An anatomical study of the entry point in the greater trochanter for intramedullary nailing

Bolton Brush Collection

The Bolton Brush Longitudinal Growth Study is another well-recognized collection which is housed in the Case Western Reserve University (CWRU)Dental School on our hospital campus. For this study’s data collection, which occurred primarily in the 1920s to 1940s, healthy children from Cleveland were followed at regular intervals during their growth to gather multiple anthropometric measurements and x-rays of  each joint on the left side of the body. This collection is best known for producing the Greulich and Pyle Atlas, which remains the standard system for bone age radiographs in many hospitals. The data from this historical collection has allowed us to study the natural radiographic development of multiple pediatric orthopaedic conditions and develop systems for assessing skeletal maturity. Our research with this collection has received awards from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Scoliosis Research Society, the International Congress on Early Onset Scoliosis, the European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society, and the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons. A sample of studies is listed below:

• Capital Femoral Growth Plate Extension Predicts Cam Morphology in a Longitudinal Radiographic Study
• Systematic Isolation of Key Parameters for Estimating Skeletal Maturity on Knee Radiographs
• Systematic Isolation of Key Parameters for Estimating Skeletal Maturity on Anteroposterior Wrist Radiographs
• The Systematic Isolation of Key Parameters for Estimating Skeletal Maturity on Lateral Elbow Radiographs
• Systematic Isolation of Key Parameters for Estimating Skeletal Maturity on AP Hip Radiographs
• The Natural History of Benign Bone Tumors of the Extremities in Asymptomatic Children: A Longitudinal Radiographic Study