Metacarpal Bone (metacarpal + bone)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Lag screw fixation of dorsal cortical stress fractures of the third metacarpal bone in 116 racehorses

EQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 7 2010
S. L. JALIM
Summary Reasons for performing study: The effectiveness and best method to manage dorsal cortical stress fractures is not clear. This study was performed to evaluate the success of lag screw fixation of such fractures in a population of Thoroughbred racehorses. Hypothesis: Lag screw fixation of dorsal cortical stress fractures is an effective surgical procedure allowing racehorses to return to their preoperative level of performance. Methods: The records of 116 racehorses (103 Thoroughbreds) admitted to Equine Medical Centre, California between 1986 and 2008 were assessed. Information obtained from medical records included subject details, limb(s) affected, fracture configuration, length of screw used in repair and presence of concurrent surgical procedures performed. Racing performance was evaluated relative to these factors using Fisher's exact test and nonparametric methods with a level of significance of P<0.05. Results: Of 92 Thoroughbred horses, 83% raced preoperatively and 83% raced post operatively, with 63% having ,5 starts. There was no statistically significant association between age, gender, limb affected, fracture configuration or presence of concurrent surgery and likelihood of racing post operatively or of having 5 or more starts. The mean earnings per start and the performance index for the 3 races following surgery were lower compared to the 3 races prior to surgery; however, 29 and 45% of horses either improved or did not change their earnings per start and performance index, respectively. Conclusions and potential relevance: Data show that lag screw fixation is successful at restoring ability to race in horses suffering from dorsal cortical stress fractures. [source]


Osteon pullout in the equine third metacarpal bone: Effects of ex vivo fatigue

JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH, Issue 3 2003
L. P. Hiller
Abstract An important concept in bone mechanics is that osteons influence mechanical properties in several ways, including contributing to toughness and fatigue strength by debonding from the interstitial matrix so as to ,bridge" developing cracks. Observations of ,pulled out, osteons on fracture surfaces are thought to be indicative of such behavior. We tested the hypothesis that osteon pullout varies with mode of loading (fatigue vs. monotonic), cortical region, elastic modulus, and fatigue life. Mid-diaphseal beams from the dorsal, medial, and lateral regions of the equine third metacarpal bone were fractured in four point bending by monotonic loading to failure under deflection control, with or without 105 cycles of previous fatigue loading producing 5000 microstrain (15,20% of the expected failure strain) on the first cycle; or sinusoidal fatigue loading to failure, under load or deflection control, with the initial cycle producing 10,000 microstrain (30,40% of the expected failure strain). Using scanning electron microscopy, percent fracture surface area exhibiting osteon pullout (%OP.Ar) was measured. Monotonically loaded specimens and the compression side of fatigue fracture surfaces exhibited no osteon pullout. In load-controlled fatigue, pullout was present on the tension side of fracture surfaces, was regionally dependent (occurring to a greater amount dorsally), and was correlated negatively with elastic modulus and positively with fatigue life. Regional variation in %OP.Ar was also significant for the pooled (load and deflection controlled) fatigue specimens. %OP.Ar was nearly significantly greater in deflection controlled fatigue specimens than in load-controlled specimens (p < 0.059). The data suggest that tensile fatigue loading of cortical bone eventually introduces damage that results in osteonal debonding and pullout, which is also associated with increased fatigue life via mechanisms that are not yet clear. © 2002 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. [source]


Compound flap from the great toe and vascularized joints from the second toe for posttraumatic thumb reconstruction at the level of the proximal metacarpal bone

MICROSURGERY, Issue 3 2009
Tsu-Min Tsai M.D.
The purpose of this study is to describe the harvesting technique, anatomic variations, and clinical applications of a compound flap from the great toe and vascularized joint from the second toe used for thumb reconstruction. Five fresh cadaver dissections were studied, focusing attention on the dorsal or plantar vascular dominance, position of the communicating branch between the dorsal and plantar system, the Gilbert classification, and the size of the first dorsal metatarsal artery (FDMA) and first plantar metatarsal artery (FPMA) to the great toe and second toe. Five compound flaps were performed on five patients with traumatic thumb amputation at the level of proximal metacarpal bone. The patients' ages ranged from 14 to 47. Follow-up period was 11,24 months. The anatomic study showed that FPMA had larger caliber in 40% of dissections, FDMA in 40%, and had the same caliber in 20%. The Gilbert classification of FDMA was 40% class I and 60% class III. In the clinical applications, four patients achieved good functional opposition and motion of transferred joints with good pinch and grip strength. There was one flap failure, and donor-site morbidity was minimal. The compound flap offers advantages over traditional toe transfer by providing two functional joints. It can be used for amputation of the thumb at carpometacarpal joint level. Finally, the compound flap maintains growth potential in children through transfer of vascularized epiphyses. The disadvantages of this compound flap include a technically challenging harvest and a longer operative time. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2009. [source]


Changes in Bone Density During Childhood and Adolescence: An Approach Based on Bone's Biological Organization

JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2001
Frank Rauch
Abstract Bone densitometry has great potential to improve our understanding of bone development. However, densitometric data in children rarely are interpreted in light of the biological processes they reflect. To strengthen the link between bone densitometry and the physiology of bone development, we review the literature on physiological mechanisms and structural changes determining bone mineral density (BMD). BMD (defined as mass of mineral per unit volume) is analyzed in three levels: in bone material (BMDmaterial), in a bone's trabecular and cortical tissue compartments (BMDcompartment), and in the entire bone (BMDtotal). BMDmaterial of the femoral midshaft cortex decreases after birth to a nadir in the first year of life and thereafter increases. In iliac trabecular bone, BMDmaterial also increases from infancy to adulthood, reflecting the decrease in bone turnover. BMDmaterial cannot be determined with current noninvasive techniques because of insufficient spatial resolution. BMDcompartment of the femoral midshaft cortex decreases in the first months after birth followed by a rapid increase during the next 2 years and slower changes thereafter, reflecting changes in both relative bone volume and BMDmaterial. Trabecular BMDcompartment increases in vertebral bodies but not at the distal radius. Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) allows for the determination of both trabecular and cortical BMDcompartment, whereas projectional techniques such as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) can be used only to assess cortical BMDcompartment of long bone diaphyses. BMDtotal of long bones decreases by about 30% in the first months after birth, reflecting a redistribution of bone tissue from the endocortical to the periosteal surface. In children of school age and in adolescents, changes in BMDtotal are site-specific. There is a marked rise in BMDtotal at locations where relative cortical area increases (metacarpal bones, phalanges, and forearm), but little change at the femoral neck and midshaft. BMDtotal can be measured by QCT at any site of the skeleton, regardless of bone shape. DXA allows the estimation of BMDtotal at skeletal sites, which have an approximately circular cross-section. The system presented here may help to interpret densitometric results in growing subjects on a physiological basis. [source]


Difference in the Length of the Medial and Lateral Metacarpal and Metatarsal Condyles in Calves and Cows , A Post-Mortem Study

ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 6 2007
S. Nacambo
Summary Measurements were taken in the metacarpal and metatarsal bones in 42 calves and 10 dairy cows post-mortem to determine whether there are anatomical differences in bone length. Manual and digital measurements of various bone length parameters were taken. There was a significant difference in the mean length of the condyles of the metacarpal and the metatarsal bones in calves and cows, the lateral condyle being longer than the medial. In all but one metatarsal bone (98.8%), the lateral condyle was longer than the medial. In the metacarpal bones, the lateral condyle was longer in only 52.4% of the bones, in 21.2%, they had the same length and in 27.4% the medial condyle was longer. These intrinsic anatomical differences can help distinguish between the left and right metacarpal and metatarsal bones, for instance, in anatomical and archaeological studies. Knowledge of these differences might be useful for studies on digit function and on the possible predisposition of cattle to claw diseases in the lateral claws of the hind limbs. [source]