Brachydactyly is a medical term which literally means 'short finger'. The shortness is relative to the length of other long bones and other parts of the body. Brachydactyly is an inherited, dominant trait. It most often occurs as an isolated dysmelia, but can also occur with other anomalies as part of many congenital syndromes. Brachydactyly may also be a signal that one is at risk for congenital heart disease due to the association between congenital heart disease and Carpenter syndrome and the link between Carpenter syndrome and brachydactyly.
Polydactyly or polydactylism, also known as hyperdactyly, is an anomaly in humans and animals resulting in supernumerary fingers and/or toes. Polydactyly is the opposite of oligodactyly.
The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position, the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb is pollex, and the corresponding adjective for thumb is pollical.
Cri du chat syndrome is a rare genetic disorder due to a partial chromosome deletion on chromosome 5. Its name is a French term referring to the characteristic cat-like cry of affected children. It was first described by Jérôme Lejeune in 1963. The condition affects an estimated 1 in 50,000 live births across all ethnicities and is more common in females by a 4:3 ratio.
Julia Bell MA Dubl (1901) MRCS LRCP (1920) MRCP (1926) FRCP (1938) was one of the pioneers of eugenics and human genetics. Her early career as a statistical assistant to Karl Pearson (1857–1936) marked the beginning of a lifelong professional association with the Galton Laboratory for National Eugenics at University College London. Bell's work as a human geneticist was based on her statistical investigations into the inheritance of anomalies and diseases of the eye, nervous diseases, muscular dystrophies, and digital anomalies.
Greig cephalopolysyndactyly syndrome is a disorder that affects development of the limbs, head, and face. The features of this syndrome are highly variable, ranging from very mild to severe. People with this condition typically have one or more extra fingers or toes (polydactyly) or an abnormally wide thumb or big toe (hallux).
Currarino syndrome is an inherited congenital disorder where either the sacrum is not formed properly, or there is a mass in the presacral space in front of the sacrum, and there are malformations of the anus or rectum. It occurs in approximately 1 in 100,000 people.
Homeobox protein Hox-D13 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HOXD13 gene. This gene belongs to the homeobox family of genes. The homeobox genes encode a highly conserved family of transcription factors that play an important role in morphogenesis in all multicellular organisms.
Orofaciodigital syndrome 1 (OFD1), also called Papillon-Léage and Psaume syndrome, is an X-linked congenital disorder characterized by malformations of the face, oral cavity, and digits with polycystic kidney disease and variable involvement of the central nervous system.
Cooks syndrome is a hereditary disorder which is characterized in the hands by bilateral nail hypoplasia on the thumb, index finger, and middle finger, absence of fingernails (anonychia) on the ring finger and little finger, lengthening of the thumbs, and bulbousness of the fingers. In the feet, it is characterized by absence of toenails and absence/hypoplasia of the distal phalanges. In the second study of this disorder, it was found that the intermediate phalanges, proximal phalanges, and metacarpals were unaffected.
Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy (HNPP) is a peripheral neuropathy, a condition that affects the nerves. Pressure on the nerves can cause tingling sensations, numbness, pain, weakness, muscle atrophy and even paralysis of the affected area. In normal individuals, these symptoms disappear quickly, but in sufferers of HNPP even a short period of pressure can cause the symptoms to occur. Palsies can last from minutes or days to weeks or even months.
Nasodigitoacoustic syndrome, also called Keipert syndrome, is a rare congenital syndrome first described by J.A. Keipert and colleagues in 1973. The syndrome is characterized by a misshaped nose, broad thumbs and halluces, brachydactyly, sensorineural hearing loss, facial features such as hypertelorism, and developmental delay.
Polysyndactyly is a congenital anomaly, combining polydactyly and syndactyly, in which affected individuals have an extra finger or toe that is connected, via fusing or webbing, to an adjacent digit.
Familial opposable triphalangeal thumb duplication is a limb malformation syndrome and a type of pre-axial polydactyly, characterized by having duplicated opposable triphalangeal thumbs. This condition can be a symptom of other genetic disorders, such as Holt–Oram syndrome and Fanconi anemia. This trait is autosomal dominant and often runs in families. Sometimes big toe duplication, post-axial polydactyly, and syndactyly of the hand and feet can occur alongside this malformation Approximately 20 families with the condition have been described in medical literature.
Hirschsprung's disease-type D brachydactyly syndrome is a very rare genetic disorder which is characterized by the partial absence of nerves in the intestines and hypoplasia of the thumb's distal phalange. It has been described in 4 males from a 2-generation American family. The inheritance pattern was hypothesized to be either X-linked recessive or autosomal dominant with reduced penetrance.
Brachydactyly-long thumb syndrome is a very rare genetic disorder which is characterized by symmetric brachydactyly of the fingers accompanied by an abnormally long thumb, hypomobility of the shoulder and metacarpo-phalangeal joints, and heart conduction defects. Small feet and hands, small shoulders accompanied with short clavicles, clinodactyly, pectus excavatum, mild limb shortening, cardiomegaly, and pulmonic stenosis murmur have also been reported. It was first discovered when D W Hollister et al. described 4 affected members belonging to a 3-generation family. No new cases have been reported since 1981. This disorder is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner.
Kirner's deformity, also known as dystelephangy, is an uncommon genetic hand malformation which is characterized by a radial and volar curvature of the distal phalange of the fifth (pinky) finger. It is merely cosmetic and doesn't affect hand function.
Anonychia-onychodystrophy with brachydactyly type B and ectrodactyly is a very rare autosomal dominant disorder which is characterized by onychodystrophy, anonychia, fifth finger brachydactyly, thumb digitalization, and missing to underdeveloped distal phalanges of the fingers. It has been described in multiple members of a 5-generation English family.
Triphalangeal thumbs-brachyectrodactyly syndrome is a very rare limb malformation syndrome of genetic origin which is characterized by polydactyly, syndactyly, brachydactyly, ectrodactyly, triphalangeal thumb and polyphalangism. Onychodystrophy and anonychia are also seen often. 27 cases from seven families from Mexico and the United States have been described in medical literature. It is inherited in an autosomal dominan manner and thought to be caused by mutations in the HOXD13 gene, in chromosome 2.
Heart-hand syndrome, Slovenian type is a rare autosomal dominant genetic disorder belonging to the heart-hand syndromes.
