European Journal of Anatomy

Official Journal of The Spanish Society of Anatomy
Cover Volume 15 - Number 3
Eur J Anat, 15 (3): 129-135 (2011)

Cadaveric study of the long extensor tendons of the finger over the dorsum of the hand

Pawan Agarwal, Gopal Tirthani

Plastic Surgery Unit, Department of Surgery, N.S.C.B. Government Medical College, Jabalpur, 482003 (M.P.) India

ABSTRACT The extensor tendons to the fingers were studied in dissections of 120 hands from 60 fresh cadavers, and the divisions of the tendons, as well as the intertendinous connection, were analyzed. One tendon of the extensor digitorum communis (EDC) was present for the second finger in 88.33% of cases, one for the third finger in 55.8%, two for the fourth finger in 48.33%, and the absence of the extensor digitorum communis tendon to the fifth finger was noted in 26.66% of cases. The extensor indicis had only one tendon for the second finger in 96.66%, two tendons in 0.83% and absent in 2.5% cases. The extensor digiti minimi (EDM) to fifth finger was present in 75.83%, while in 23.33% of the hands two tendons were present. Only one hand (0.83%) lacked the EDM. The most common intertendinous connections were seen between the EDC tendons of the fourth and third fingers in 96.66% cases. Surgeons must be familiar with these variations when performing tendon transfers for the correction of injury, paralytic defects or the treatment of tendon ruptures in rheumatoid arthritis, particularly those involving the use of the extensor indicis and the extensor digiti minimi. The symmetric study in both hands revealed the existence of individual variations and the pattern observed in one hand is not necessarily the same in the other hand.

Keywords: Anatomical variations, Wrist and hand, Cadaver, Extensor tendons

European Journal of anatomy
ISSN 2340-311X (Online)