Occult humeral epiphyseal fracture in battered infants.

Complete fracture-separation of humeral epiphyses, proximal or distal, represents unusual skeletal injuries in the battered infant. Radiographic identification of the type and extent of epiphyseal injury may be difficult due to lack of ossified epiphyseal centers. While arthrography can be a useful diagnostic and therapeutic supplement, radionuclide scintigraphy appears to be of limited value in the detection of such epiphyseal-metaphyseal injuries.