Purpose There are multiple skeletal maturity grading systems, but none of them utilizes the phalanges of the foot. To minimize radiation, it would be ideal if one could assess the skeletal maturity of a foot based on bones seen on routine foot radiographs, if guided growth is being considered as a treatment option. We developed a system that correlates changes of the appearance of the foot phal...

I n 1967, Bachman described a ‘‘hereditary peripheral dysostosis’’ which affected a mother and her two children. What was later considered as multiple epiphyseal dysplasia combined with phalangeal cone shaped epiphyses was renamed angel shaped phalangoepiphyseal dysplasia (ASPED) and considered as a genetic bone marker. ASPED represents a further variety of multiple epiphyseal dysplasia and is ...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this cross-sectional epidemiologic study was to investigate the prevalence and distribution of musculoskeletal disorders causing unfitness to Turkish Military Service. METHODS This study has been carried out by examining the medical reports of 1.777.500 people who applied to the Turkish Armed Forces for military service between 2009-2011. Age and geographic region of ind...

An often overlooked aspect of digit development is the special nature of the terminal phalanx, a specialized structure with characteristics distinct from other phalanges, for example the presence of ectodermal derivatives such as nails and claws. Here, we describe the unique ossification pattern of distal phalanges and characteristic gene expression in the digit tips of chick and duck embryos. ...

In an influential model of pattern formation, a gradient of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signalling in the chick wing bud specifies cells with three antero-posterior positional values, which give rise to three morphologically different digits by a self-organizing mechanism with Turing-like properties. However, as four of the five digits of the mouse limb are morphologically similar in terms of phalange...

PURPOSE The motion path of the digits follows the path of an equiangular spiral in which a constant angle is formed by all radial vectors along the curve. This implies that the lengths of the metacarpals, proximal, middle, and distal phalanges approximate a Fibonacci sequence in which the ratio of any 2 consecutive numbers approaches the number 1.61803 (phi). This study tested the hypothesis th...

The morphology of trabecular bone has proven sensitive to loading patterns in the long bones and metacarpal heads of primates. It is expected that we should also see differences in the manual digits of primates that practice different methods of locomotion. Primate proximal and middle phalanges are load-bearing elements that are held in different postures and experience different mechanical str...

The extensor apparatus, an aponeurosis that covers the dorsal side of each finger, transmits force from a number of musculotendons to the phalanges. Multiple tendons integrate directly into the structure at different sites and the extensor apparatus attaches to the phalanges at multiple points. Thus, prediction of the force distribution within the extensor apparatus, or hood, and the transmissi...