Common causes of dense transverse metaphyseal lines can be remembered using the mnemonics:
- DENSE LINES
- PRINCES
Mnemonics
DENSE LINES
- D: D-vitamin intoxication
- E: elemental arsenic and heavy metals (lead, bismuth, phosphorus)
- N: normal variation
- S: systemic illness
- E: estrogen to mother during pregnancy
- L: leukemia, lymphoma
-
I
- infection (TORCH)
- idiopathic hypercalcemia
- N: never forget healed rickets
- E: early hypothyroidism (cretinism)
-
S
- scurvy
- syphilis: congenital
- sickle cell disease
PRINCES
- P: poisoning (lead, mercury, antimony, etc.)
- R: rickets
- I: infection (TORCH); idiopathic hypercalcemia
- N: normal variant; neoplastic (leukemia, lymphoma)
- C: congenital syphilis
- E: endocrine (congenital hypothyroidism)
- S: sickle cell disease; scurvy