Extra interphalangeal transverse creases of the little finger

Abstract

SummaryA series of 283 male and 268 female individuals were examined for digital flexion creases on the little fingers. Two males and two females were found to have an extra interphalangeal transverse crease situated betweeen the metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal creases. The extra crease of the little finger was unilateral or bilateral. None of the little fingers with extra crease had radiographic anomalies of the bones or joints, or evidence of dyskinesia.Three digital flexion creases are normally observed to exist on the little finger, i.e. metacarpophalangeal crease and proximal and distal interphalangeal creases.A ring crease, which is usually present as a metacarpophalangeal crease on the middle finger and ring finger, is only rarely found on the little finger (Okajima, 1966).A single interphalangeal crease on the little finger represents, as generally recognized, a characteristic dermatoglyphic trait in Down's syndrome, 18-trisomy, de Lange syndrome and oral-facial-digital syndrome (Alter, 1966;Preus and Fraser, 1972). The defect of one of the digital creases of little finger in these conditions, therefore, has been attracting attention of many investigators.There is a dearth of detailed information of cases with an extra transverse digital crease on the little finger, in addition to the usual three digital creases. We examined a series of 551 individuals for the extra transverse flexion crease of the little fingers (1102 fingers). Four subjects were found to have this trait located between the proximal interphalangeal crease and metacarpophalangeal crease. The present communication deals with the observation of extra interphalangeal transverse creases on the little fingers in these four cases. MATERIALS AND METHODSA total of 1102 little fingers of 283 males and 268 females were studied. The subjects consist of 199 male and 85 female urological patients, 69 males and 42 females from 15 male and 141 female spouses of the patients and their relatives,

Embryological development of human palmar, plantar, and digital flexion creases

“…Supporting evidence for the first hypothesis is the correspondence of the creases on the palm and digits to the locations of the underlying joints of the hand, and the association between hand malformations and alterations of palmar creases (Popich and Smith, 1970). An important finding that favors the second hypothesis is that the extrainterphalangeal transverse crease may be present on the digits of individuals with normal joint function (Komatz et al, 1978;Aue-Hauser, 1979). Observations of the developing creases on the palm of early embryos, at about 7 and 9 weeks gestation, by Pikh (1925), Schaeuble (19331, and Wiirth (1937) (cited by Schaumann and Alter, 1976) also support the latter hypothesis, since spontaneous hand movements are not observed in embryos of less than 11.5 weeks gestation (Humphrey, 1964).…”

Embryological development and prevalence of thumb flexion creases

“…Although not as extensive as the existing literature on the palmar flexion creases and their association with medical disorders, a number of reports of digital flexion creases have been published. These include studies of embryonic development (Popich and Smith, 1970;Kimura and Kitagawa, 1986) and of variations in morphology of the digital (Aue-Hauser, 1979, 1980Aue-Hauser et al, 1978, 1980Komatz et al, 1978) and metacarpophalangeal (Okajima, 1966(Okajima, , 1968) flexion creases in healthy individuals, and reports of unusual digital flexion creases in various medical disorders (e.g., DeJong and Platou, 1967;Hodes et al, 1978;Kida et al, 1974;Penrose, 1931;Rodewald and Wischerath, 1979;Zizmor, 1973). None of the existing studies, however, included the thumb flexion creases.…”

Supernumerary digital flexion creases: An additional clinical manifestation of Alagille syndrome

“…This study describes the presence of supernumerary flexion creases in 35% of an AGS population and provides a new aid to diagnosis. Supernumerary digital creases of the fifth finger have been reported in less than 1% of the general population [Komatz et al, 1978] and distal interphalangeal supernumerary creases have been reported to be as high as 11% in a control population for a study of patients with sickle cell disease [DeJong and Platou, 1967;Zizmor, 1973]. Supernumerary digital flexion creases were not identified in 250 patients referred for genetics consultation to one of the authors of this study (I.D.K.)…”

“…Although literature on the subject is scarce, supernumerary digital creases of the fifth finger have been reported in less than 1% of the general population [Komatz et al, 1978]. In studies of individuals with sickle cell anemia, supernumerary digital flexion creases of the distal interphalangeal joints were noted in 24-90% of individuals with sickle cell anemia and in 7-11% of the control populations studied [DeJong and Platou, 1967;Zizmor, 1973].…”