Hallux valgus, hallux varus and metatarsus adductus terms are misnomers

Abstract

application of these words in adjectival form to other portions of the body by the medical community has resulted in changing their definitions. The term varus is used to indicate warped inward or deviation of the distal skeletal elements or part towards the midline, and valgus is used to indicate warped outward or deviation away from the midline. In the currrent medical terminology, medial and lateral movements of the joints and pathological deviation of the bones of the upper and the lower limbs are described in reference to the midline of the human body, placed in anatomical position, bisecting the human body into two equal halves. Terms like cubitus varus and cubitus valgus at the level of elbow joint and manus vara and manus valga at the level of the wrist joint in the upper limb and coxa vara and coxa valga at the level of the hip joint, genu varum and genu valgum at the level of the knee joint and talipes varus and talipes valgus at the level of the intertarsal joints are examples of terminology applied to the lower limb.