J. Mccredie et Hg. Willert, Longitudinal limb deficiencies and the sclerotomes - An analysis of 378 dysmelic malformations induced by thalidomide, J BONE-BR V, 81B(1), 1999, pp. 9-23
Citations number
52
Categorie Soggetti
Ortopedics, Rehabilitation & Sport Medicine","da verificare
The pathogenesis of longitudinal reduction deformities of the limbs, or dys
melia, is still a matter of debate, Their morphological pattern was defined
from a large collection of radiographs of children with dysmelia following
the thalidomide disaster.
We compared radiographs of 378 of these limbs with the sclerotomes which ar
e areas of segmental sensory innervation of the limb skeleton defined by th
e radiation of referred pain, The pattern of dysmelia matched the sclerotom
es closely in 279 limbs (73.5%),
The principles of skeletal reduction in dysmelia are explained by the arran
gement of the sclerotomes. The congruence between two separate and independ
ent data sets shows that both patterns are expressions of the underlying se
gmental sensory innervation of the skeleton, and that the sensory nervous s
ystem is involved in the process of limb morphogenesis and teratogenesis.