Congenital deformities of the upper extremities / by Arne Birch-Jensen.

  • Birch-Jensen, Arne (Arne Sofus Wind), 1910-
Date:
1949
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Congenital deformities of the upper extremities / by Arne Birch-Jensen. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Exogenous Deformities. Spontaneous amputations. The exogenous amputations of the upper extremities, designated as spon taneous in contrast with the endogenous ones, are divided into spontaneous amputation of upper arm, forearm, hand, and digits. To these may be added the exogenous syndactylism, which must he regarded as spontaneous amputa tion of digits with syndactylism. All these deformities are characterized by the fact that the exogenous aetiology is visible at the site of amputation, chiefly as scar formation. But we may also observe the first traces of spontaneous amputation in the form of groove of constriction. In no case do we find the rudimentary digits characteristic of amputations. Neither does X-ray examination reveal signs of the congenital endogenous bone deformities seen in amputations; but traces are found of the exogenous aetiology, in so far as the stump tapers off to a point. Spontaneous Amputation of the Upper Arm. The stump tapers to a point. Scar formation is seen at the site of amputa tion (Fig. 2,36). Spontaneous Amputation of the Forearm. The point of amputation is generally within the proximal 10 cm. of the forearm. The stump as a rule tapers off with a more or less marked scar (Figs. 237 and 238). These characteristics apply also to the rarer distal spon taneous amputations (Fig. 239). Spontaneous Amputation of the Hand. The hand is most often amputated just distal to the carpal bones, where, as in other spontaneous amputations, there is found scar formation without rudimentary fingers (Fig. 240). Spontaneous Amputation of Digits. The aetiology of spontaneous amputation of digits is no doubt in the great majority of the cases the same as that of groove of constriction. Hence groove of constriction on the digits is included under this head (Figs. 241, 242, and 243). In some cases of spontaneous amputation the adjacent digits present groove of constriction on a level with the point of amputation (Figs. 244, 245, 246, and 247). Distal to such a groove the digit may be somewhat atrophic (Figs. 248, 249, and 250), even to the point of presenting as a rudiment with nail