Difference between Child and Adult

1. Difference between
child and adult

2. INTRODUCTION
The anatomic differences between babies and adults are:
a) Size and weight of children and adults are the outstanding anatomical
differences.
b) Newborn’s head is larger and heavier as compared to his body, whereas it is
not so in adults. This makes the handling of infants quite different from
handling of adults.

3. INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
 The apocrine sweat glands found in axillae, areolae
and genital area are small and nonfunctional from
birth to preschool years. They start functioning at an
age of 8-10 years. Some skin conditions are common in
infants and children like leiner’s disease, scelerema
neonatorum, tinea capitis. These conditions do not
occur in adults.
SYSTEMIC DIFFERENCES

4. Respiratory System
 Fetal lungs have no function except
metabolism till extrauterine respiration
occurs. The alveolar sacs are shallow in
neonates and dead air space is large, so more
air must be moved in and out of the lungs
than is necessary in all the chain. This is the
reason, respiration is rapid in babies.
 During infancy, the tissues of respiratory
tract are delicate and do not produce
sufficient mucus as they do, during
adulthood. So there is there is no protection
from invasion of infectious microorganisms
resulting in frequent respiratory tract
infections in children.

5. Heart and Circulatory
System
 During fetal life, oxygenated blood is
delivered to fetus from placenta and
deoxygenated blood is returned to placenta.
After birth, when newborn is separated
from placenta, respiration, begins, and
changes occur in heart. These changes in
cardiac functioning occur over a period of
hours or days. If some aspects of fetal
circulation persist, congenital anomalies
may result, which may interfere with
continuation of life.

6. Hematologic System
 They RBCs of newborn are quiet
different from those of adults, as they
are macrocytic. Also, the life span of
adult RBCs is 100– 120 days whereas
that of neonates is approximately 60 –
80 days.

7. Fluids and Electrolytes
 Total body water refers to all fluid of the
body except that present inside the
gastrointestinal tract and urinary system.
The total body water in infants is about
750ml/kg body weight whereas in adults it
is 550 ML per KG body weight. In newborn
baby 75 – 80% of bodyweight is composed
of water, whereas, in an adult, water makes
approximately 60% of body weight.

8. Gastrointestinal System
 The cardiac sphincter of stomach is fairly
tight in adults but it is quite relaxed in
infants, resulting in frequent regurgitation
and vomiting during infancy. During neonatal
period, the gastrointestinal functioning is
immature and involuntary, but during
infancy, the gastrointestinal tract comes
increasingly under voluntary control in terms
of drinking of fluids, chewing, and
swallowing of food.

9. Urinary System
 The functioning of kidneys of infants
and adults differ. Infant’s kidneys are
immature with reduce ability to
concentrate urine so infants are quite
prone to develop dehydration if fluid
intake is not proper. Unlike adults, the
younger kidneys can grow and increase
the number of functioning nephrons so
chronic renal failure usually does not
follow acute renal failure in children as
it does in adults.

10. Endocrine System
 They secrete hormones, which are least
developed at birth than any other system
in the body. Also, the homeostatic control
is lacking till the age of 12 – 18 months so
the infant may have imbalance of fluid
and electrolyte, amino acids, glucose, and
trace elements.

11. Reproductive System
 Ovaries in a baby girl approximately 10mm
in length and 2- 4mm in width. Proper
functioning of ovaries starts by 12 – 13
years of age when ovulation begins. Faulty
development of ovaries leads to precocious
puberty or delayed birthday.
 Testes in a male baby, at birth are 1.5 – 2cm
long and 0.7 – 1 cm wide. The size of testes
increases gradually, and reaches maturity
between 13- 17 years.

12. Musculoskeletal System
 The sutures in skull of newborn are not
united. Thus, when intracranial pressure
increases, the infants and bones are
neither as firm nor brittle as of adults so
fractures rarely occur in infants and if it
all they occur, healing is very quick.
 In children, height increases as bones
grow at epiphyses whereas in adults
height doesn’t increase after certain age.

13. Neurologic System
 The weight of brain of neonate is
about300-500grams. The brain doubles in
size by 1 year of age. Reflex activities
that are present during infancy, disappear
as voluntary control is developed.
Reflexes like rooting, palmar and plantar
grasp, tonic-neck etc. disappear by the
age of 12 months.

14. Lymphoid and immune
System
 The maturation of lymphoid system varies
with the child’s age of 10-11 years. Lymphoid
tissue responds to infection by excessive
swelling ad hyperplasia.
 Immune system in young children is
depressed and immature. The passive
immunity obtained from maternally derived
IgG antibodies is gradually lost so infants
are quite susceptible to bacterial and viral
infections.

15. Pathological Differences
1. Imbalance of fluid and electrolytes
Children lose fluid easily as compared to
adults. In conditions like diarrhea, vomiting,
burns etc. children get dehydrated easily. Also,
if fluid replacement is done without carefully
estimating fluid requirement, children may
develop hypovolemia easily, that ay lead to
congestive heart failure.

16. Pathological Differences
2. Resistance to diseases
The baby gets immunity from mother
which helps the baby fight against
infections for first three months of life.
After this, he develops his own
immunity for which he needs
immunization.

17. Pathological Differences
3. Sign and symptoms of diseases in
children are different from adults. The
child’s condition may deteriorate
easily leading to his death whereas in
adults it is not so.

18. Psychological Differences
Infants and children are better patients than
adults because
I. They live in present, easily forgetting the past
II. Their attention span is short.
Due to these reasons it is easy to divert the
child’s mind but the nurse should not forget that
diverting child’s mind doesn’t mean that the
cause of pain or discomfort is relieved.