Hand development in trisomy 21

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate hand size and maturity in fetuses with trisomy 21 (Down syndrome). Twenty-five fetuses, crown-rump length (CRL) 55-222 mm, foot length (FL) 8-42 mm, were included in the study. After whole-body radiography (Hewlett Packard Faxitron), special radiographs of the hand and foot were taken. Hand length was measured as the length of the third finger from the distal tip of the distal phalanx to the proximal tip of the metacarpal bone, the digital-metacarpal length (DML). The lengths of the proximal phalangeal bone (PPL) and the metacarpal bone (MCL) of the third finger were also measured. The DML, PPL, and MCL values of each fetus were related to CRL and FL. The individual hand bones were evaluated with regard to time of appearance on radiographs, sequence in comparison with the normal sequence of appearance, and morphology. The hand length is normal during the first half of the fetal period, whereas the length of individual bones in the third finger is reduced. The normal sequence of ossification, with the middle phalanx of the fifth finger last to ossify, also occurred in Down syndrome; however, this bone appeared later in Down syndrome. In four of the fetuses it did not appear.