Elbow Ossification Centers

The elbow ossification centers ossify at different ages as a child develops. Knowing the timeline of ossification is very important when assessing whether a child has a fracture in their elbow. A helpful mnemonic for remembering the ossification centers of the elbow is the six-letter made-up word of CRITOE. I suppose it rhymes with 'elbow', but other than that - I don't see the relationship, but it is memorable enough for our purposes:

	Ossification Site	Age (years)
C	Capitulum	1
R	Radial Head	3
I	Internal (medial) epicondyle	5
T	Trochlea	7
O	Olecranon	9
E	External (lateral) epicondyle	11

Of these, the I and T are the most important: the trochlea ossification center should not appear before the medial epicondyle one. I found the image below to be helpful, given the superimposed drawing: 

Ossification Centers of the Elbow
Source: Radiology Assistant