syndactyly

English

Etymology

From syn- +‎ Ancient Greek δάκτυλος (dáktulos, “finger”) +‎ -y.

Noun

syndactyly (countable and uncountable, plural syndactylies)

1. (biology) The normal condition, in some animals and birds, of having fused digits.
2. (medicine, teratology) The anomalous condition, in humans, of having some fingers or toes fused with a web.
   • 2008, Guinness World Records — Human Body — Extreme Bodies — Most Fingers and Toes — Living Person‎^[1]:

     Pranamya Menaria (India; born August 10, 2005) has 25 in total (12 fingers and 13 toes). This is as a result of the condition Polydactyly and Syndactyly.

   • 2012, Donald S. Bae, Chapter 47: Release of Simple Syndactyly, John M. Flynn, Sam W. Wiesel (editors), Operative Techniques in Pediatric Orthopaedics, Wolters Kluwer (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins), page 326,

     • Syndactyly refers to the failure of separation between adjacent digits, resulting in "webbed" fingers.

     • Congenital syndactyly is classified according to the extent of digital involvement and the character of the conjoined tissue.

     • Complete syndactyly extends to the digital tips (FIG 1A), whereas incomplete syndactyly ends proximal to the fingertips (FIG 1B).

     • Simple syndactyly refers to digits connected only by skin and soft tissue. Complex syndactyly denotes bony fusions between adjacent phalanges.

     • Complicated syndactyly refers to the interposition of accessory phalanges or abnormal bones between digits.

   • 2016, David B. Everman, “2: Hands and Feet”, in Roger E. Stevenson, Judith G. Hall, David B. Everman, Benjamin D. Solomon, editors, Human Malformations and Related Anomalies, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, page 137:

     Fig. 2.2f.1 Complete syndactyly. Schematic (A) shows syndactyly of hand excluding the thumb. The thumb may be included in the syndactyly, as evident in the left hand of the patient with Apert syndrome (B). The great toe is usually included in syndactyly of the foot.

   • 2021, Angelo B. Lipira, Joel S. Solomon, Jourdan A. Carboy, Juliana E. Hansen, “40: Congenital Hand Differences”, in Seth R. Thaller, Zubin J. Panthaki, editors, Tips and Tricks in Plastic Surgery, Springer, page 683:

     Complex syndactylies are more often part of a syndrome such as Apert, Carpenter, or Saethre-Chotzen syndrome.

Synonyms

• syndactylism

Coordinate terms

• adactyly (adactylism)

Derived terms

• acrocephalosyndactyly
• polysyndactyly

Translations

having fused digits

• Czech: daktylosymfýza f, syndaktylie f
• Finnish: syndaktylia

human condition

• Finnish: syndaktylia
• Icelandic: (of the toes) samtáun f, (of the fingers) samfingrun f