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Sex differences in the radial grooves in the first extensor compartment

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Abstract

Objective

De Quervain tenosynovitis affects the first extensor compartment of the wrist and occurs more frequently in females. This high prevalence could not be explained by soft tissue. As the osseous anatomy has been mostly neglected, we aimed to compare the distal radius between the sexes.

Materials and methods

We evaluated the presence of a bony ridge on the floor of the first extensor compartment on CT images with multiplanar imaging.

Results

We included 244 wrists (72 females, 172 males) in the study. A bony ridge was present in 58 (23.8 %) and absent in 186 (76.2 %) wrists. A ridge was present in 24 (33.3 %) wrists among females and 34 (19.8 %) wrists among males. A groove with a bony ridge was statistically associated with females.

Conclusion

We observed two tendon groove morphologies for the first extensor compartment. A groove with a bony ridge occurs more frequently in females. Further research is needed to clarify the relationship between the high frequency of a bony ridge and increased prevalence of de Quervain tenosynovitis in females.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank David F. Chapman, BSc., for editing the English of our article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Millet Caddesi, Fatih, Istanbul, 34093, Turkey

    Ilke A. Gurses

  2. Department of Radiology, Istanbul Bakırköy Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital, Tevfik Sağlam Caddesi, Bakırköy, Istanbul, 34147, Turkey

    Rustu Turkay, Ercan Inci & Suna Ors

  3. Department of Radiology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Millet Caddesi, Fatih, Istanbul, 34093, Turkey

    Yilmaz Onal

  4. Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Millet Caddesi, Fatih, Istanbul, 34093, Turkey

    Sevda Ozel

  5. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Istanbul Bakırköy Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital, Tevfik Sağlam Caddesi, Bakırköy, Istanbul, 34147, Turkey

    Meltem Vural

Authors
  1. Ilke A. Gurses
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  2. Rustu Turkay
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ilke A. Gurses.

Ethics declarations

Institutional Review Board approval (no: 2015/08/07 date: 11.05.2015) for the study was obtained.

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

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Gurses, I.A., Turkay, R., Inci, E. et al. Sex differences in the radial grooves in the first extensor compartment. Skeletal Radiol 45, 955–958 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-016-2381-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-016-2381-z

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