Clinical relevance of palmaris longus agenesis: Common anatomical aberration

Abstract

Palmaris longus muscle, although of little functional use to the human upper limb, assumes great importance when used as a donor tendon for transfer or transplant. The variability in the prevalence of palmaris longus agenesis among various ethnic groups has been established, and the surgeon's awareness of the prevalence in a population or ethnic group is desirable. The prevalence of palmaris longus agenesis has, to the best of the authors' knowledge, not been reported in Indian patients. Five hundred Indian patients were examined for the presence or absence of palmaris longus tendon, using the conventional test for presence of palmaris longus. The prevalence and pattern of palmaris longus agenesis was analyzed statistically and any difference in prevalence or pattern of palmaris longus agenesis with regard to body side or sex was looked for. All statistical analysis was done using SPSS (version 12). chi2 test was used to analyze the association of agenesis with limb laterality and sex. The prevalence of palmaris longus agenesis was found to be 17.2% (8% bilateral and 9.2% unilateral). The prevalence of agenesis was significantly more common on the left side. Male subjects had a greater likelihood of unilateral agenesis, while female subjects were more likely to have bilateral agenesis. That prevalence of palmaris longus agenesis is race dependent is reaffirmed in the present study. Although the prevalence of palmaris longus agenesis in Indian patients was found to be much higher than the reported average prevalence in an Asian population, this tendon can still be counted on by surgeons treating Indian patients for use as a donor tendon, which will be present in a vast majority of Indian patients.

Study on Palmaris Longus Muscle Tendon Agenesis Among First Year Filipino Medical Students

“…These findings are in agreement with the work done by many other researchers 6,10,11 . However, there were no differences in the agenesis of the PLMT on either gender.…”

“…In the present study PLMT agenesis was recorded in 17.50% of the population. The incidence rate of agenesis observed in our study is comparable to what was observed in an Indian study and a Nigerian study with recorded rates of 17.2% and 12.6% respectively 5,10 .…”

The Impact of Palmaris Longus Muscle on Function in Sports: An Explorative Study in Elite Tennis Players and Recreational Athletes

“…The prevalence of agenesis was found to be significantly more common on the left side [3,34]. This corresponds to our study, in which four subjects had a unilateral PLM on the right side while only two subjects showed a unilateral PLM on the left side.…”

“…The PLM can be absent unilateral and bilateral in about 22.4% of human beings (Caucasians) with a range of 3.0%-63.9%, depending on the ethnic background of a population [2]. A great diversity is reported between different populations in the prevalence of absence of the PLM [3].…”

Üst ekstremitede arteriyel ve muskuler varyasyonlar

“…Klasik el cerrahisi kitaplarında m. palmaris longus'un yokluğunun insidansı %15 olarak bildirilmesine rağmen etnik gruplarda yapılan kapsamlı çalışmalarda birbirinden farklı sonuçlara ulaşılmıştır. Kasın bulunmaması durumu %63.9 oranla, en yüksek Türk toplumunda bildirilirken, Hindistan' da yapılan bir çalışmada %17.2, Çin' de yapılan bir çalışmada %4.6, Gana' da yapılan bir çalışmada %3.1 olarak rapor edilmiştir (2, 7,21,22 (10) ise arcus palmaris superficialis'leri varyasyonlu vakaların %33'ün de kasın bulunmadığını belirlemişler, varyasyonlar arasındaki istatistiksel ilişkiyi değerlendir-memişlerdir. Olgumuzda m. palmaris longus yokluğu ile birlikte arcus palmaris superficialis'in oluşmadığı ve elin palmar yüzünde sadece a. ulnaris'in dağıldığı ve baş parmak hariç diğerlerinin bu arter tarafından beslendiği göz-lendi.…”