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Anatomical relationship between the sagittal band and extensor tendon of the thumb: a focus on variations of the extensor pollicis brevis tendon insertion

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Abstract

The sagittal band of the finger is an aponeurosis-like structure surrounding the metacarpophalangeal joint. Sagittal band rupture causes extensor tendon dislocation from the dorsal side of the metacarpophalangeal joint. The thumb has two extensor tendons: extensor pollicis longus and extensor pollicis brevis tendons. Multiple studies have reported variations of extensor pollicis brevis tendon insertion. However, it remains unclear how the thumb sagittal band envelopes the extensor pollicis longus and extensor pollicis brevis tendons. This study investigated the anatomical relationship between the sagittal band and the two extensor tendons of the thumb. One hundred hands (47 right, 53 left) from 54 cadavers were examined to assess the detailed structure of the thumb sagittal band and extensor pollicis longus and extensor pollicis brevis tendons. We found that the thumb sagittal band enveloped both the tendons either separately (type I) or collectively (type II). Thirty-four cases (34.0%) were type I and 66 cases (66.0%) were type II. The extensor pollicis longus and extensor pollicis brevis tendons enveloped in the type I thumb sagittal band were inserted on different sites, respectively, whereas those tendons enveloped in the type II thumb sagittal band were inserted on the same sites. This study demonstrated that differences in the type of thumb sagittal band are closely associated with variations in extensor pollicis brevis tendon insertion. We predicted that these differences contribute to the sliding distance between the extensor pollicis brevis and extensor pollicis longus tendons and affect the pathophysiology of extensor tendon dislocation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Kentaro Kimata, Kenji Koizumi, and Takanori Kusumoto for their contributions to this study. The authors would like to thank Enago (www.enago.jp) for the English language review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Aichi Medical University, Nagakute, Aichi, 480-1195, Japan

    Ryo Takahashi, Yusuke Ohmichi, Naoyuki Hatayama, Shuichi Hirai, Munekazu Naito & Takashi Nakano

  2. Department of Judo Therapy, Chuwa Professional Training College of Medical Care, Aichi, Japan

    Ryo Takahashi

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  1. Ryo Takahashi
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  2. Yusuke Ohmichi
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  3. Naoyuki Hatayama
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  4. Shuichi Hirai
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  5. Munekazu Naito
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  6. Takashi Nakano
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Contributions

All authors were involved in the discussion of the results and writing of the manuscript. Research was conceived and designed by RT, MN, and TN. The experiments were performed by, data were collected by, and the figures were prepared by RT, YO, NH, and SH. Constructive suggestions were provided by and discussions were conducted by RT, YO, NH, and SH. The manuscript was reviewed and revised by RT, YO, MN, and TN.

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Correspondence to Yusuke Ohmichi.

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Takahashi, R., Ohmichi, Y., Hatayama, N. et al. Anatomical relationship between the sagittal band and extensor tendon of the thumb: a focus on variations of the extensor pollicis brevis tendon insertion. Anat Sci Int 95, 356–362 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-020-00528-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-020-00528-0

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