Incidence and ossification of sesamoid bones in the hands and feet: A radiographic study in an Arab population

Abstract

The incidence and ossification of sesamoid bones in the hands and feet were studied in 922 radiographs (400 hands and 522 feet) in an Arab population from Bahrain, 5-83 years of age and consisting of 549 adults (393 men and 156 women) and 373 children (286 boys and 97 girls). All radiographs of the hand and foot in the adult population showed two sesamoid bones in the thumb metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint and in the hallucal metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint, respectively. Only 2.3% and 1.5% of hands showed sesamoids at the MCP joints of the middle and ring fingers respectively compared to a reported incidence of 7.1% for each digit in Caucasians. The incidence of sesamoids in the MTP joints of third and fourth toes (0.6% each) and inferior to the hallucal interphalangeal joint (3.1%) is probably the lowest reported so far in the literature. In the hands, ossification commenced first in the thumb sesamoids, at the age of 10 years in females and 11 years in males and was completed by the age of 13 and 14 years, respectively. In the feet, ossification began first in the hallucal sesamoids at the age of 8 years in females and 9 years in males and was completed by the age of 10 years in both sexes. The incidence and ossification of sesamoids in the hands and feet in the Arab population from Bahrain seem to differ considerably from reports in other populations. The clinical significance of our findings is discussed.

Prevalence, morphological variation and ossification of sesamoid bones of the forefoot: a retrospective radiographic study of 8,716 Chinese subjects

“…An overall prevalence of hallucal sesamoid bones of 99.96% was identified in our large study group representative of the Chinese population, a prevalence rate that is comparable to previously reported data for other populations (Table 5) [1,6,[10][11][12]. Although most researchers consider the presence of two sesamoids at the hallucal MTP joint to be consistent in humans, a number of anatomical variations of the hallucal sesamoid have been described, including: paired sesamoids, absent medial or lateral, and complete absence [3,7,[13][14][15].…”

“…A specific evaluation of the occurrence of sesamoid bones of the forefoot has yet to be conducted with a Chinese population. With regard to the developmental timeline of the sesamoid bones of the forefoot, only one study has evaluated the ossification age of hallucal sesamoid bones in children [6]. In their study, Dharap et al reported enchondral ossification, initiated in chondrification centers, appeared only at 8 years of age in girls, with a later onset in boys [6].…”

“…With regard to the developmental timeline of the sesamoid bones of the forefoot, only one study has evaluated the ossification age of hallucal sesamoid bones in children [6]. In their study, Dharap et al reported enchondral ossification, initiated in chondrification centers, appeared only at 8 years of age in girls, with a later onset in boys [6]. It has been proposed that absent, hypoplastic or multi partite hallucal sesamoid bones result from absent or incomplete ossification or from the fusion of multiple ossification centers [7][8][9].…”

Osteology and Radiographic Anatomy of the Pelvis and Hind Limb of Healthy Ring-Tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta)

“…In humans, they can be located plantarmedial, plantarlateral or plantar to the inter-phalangeal joint of the hallux and their shape varies from spherical, oval, elliptical, rectangular or triangular (Roukins and Hurless, 1996). Its frequency in human varies greatly where it can be as high as 91% and as low as 0% (Masaki, 1984;Roukis and Hurless, 1996;Msamati and Igbigbi, 2001;Dharap et al, 2007). The presence of the ossicle in all healthy animals in this study suggests that the ossicle is a normal anatomical finding in this species.…”

Huesos Sesamoideos en la Mano Humana

“…Hueso sesamoideo a nivel de la articulación metacarpofalángica del dedo indicador (flecha), en la del pulgar (estrella) y en la del dedo mínimo (punta de flecha). Dharap et al (2007) analizaron 400 radiografías de manos de una población árabe procedente de Bahrain y observaron que todas las radiografías de manos adultas (213) presentaron dos huesos sesamoideos palmares a la AMF del pulgar, resultado con el cual concordamos ya que en nuestra muestra se observó un valor cercano a 100%; un hueso sesamoideo fue encontrado palmar a la AMF del dedo indicador en 86 manos (49 derechas y 37 izquierdas), lo que corresponde a un 40,5%, valor semejante al encontrado en el presente estudio en el grupo de individuos chilenos (44,1%), sin embargo en el grupo de individuos brasileños lo observamos sólo en un 26,8%. Frecuencias menores han sido reportadas en individuos de Malawi, Africa Central, por Msamati & Igbigbi (2001) quienes observaron en este grupo, sólo un 4,8% de presencia de sesamoideos a nivel de la articulación mencionada.…”