Syndactyly eMedicine Orthopedics

Description: Syndactyly is the most common congenital malformation of the limbs, with an incidence of 1 in 2000-3000 live births. Syndactyly can be classified as simple when it involves soft tissues only and classified as complex when it involves the bone or nail of adjacent fingers. It is a shared feature of more than 28 syndromes, including Poland, Apert, and Holt-Oram syndromes. Syndactyly is a failure of differentiation in which the fingers fail to separate into individual appendages. This separation usually occurs during the sixth and eighth weeks of embryologic development. The root words of the term syndactyly are derived from the Greek words syn, meaning together, and dactyly, meaning fingers or digits.
Synonyms and related keywords: simple syndactyly, incomplete simple syndactyly, complete simple syndactyly, complex syndactyly, complicated syndactyly, type I acrocephalosyndactyly, acrocephalosyndactyly, Apert syndrome, type I Apert syndrome, type II Apert syndrome, type III Apert syndrome, Apert's syndrome, Apert syndactyly, Poland syndrome, constriction band syndrome, polydactyly, cleft hands, ring constrictions, brachysyndactyly, symbrachyphalangisms, spade hands, mitten hands, spoon hands, rosebud hands, hoof hands
Author: E Gene Deune, MD Updated: Feb 5, 2009