The middle and ring fingers of the
right hand were of unusual size, the middle finger measuring 5
1/2 inches in length four inches in circumference. On the left
hand the thumb and middle fingers were hypertrophied and the
index finger was as long as the middle one of the right hand. The
middle finger had a lateral curvature outward, due to a
displacement of the extensor tendon. This affection resembled
acromegaly. Curling cites similar cases, one in a Spanish
gentleman, Governor of Luzon, in the Philippine Islands, in 1850,
who had an extraordinary middle finger, which he concealed by
carrying it in the breast of his coat.
Hutchinson exhibited a photograph showing the absence of the
radius and thumb, with shortening of the forearm. Conditions more
or less approaching this had occurred in several members of the
same family. In some they were associated with defects of
development in the lower extremities also.
The varieties of club-foot--talipes varus, valgus, equinus,
equino-varus, etc.--are so well known that they will be passed
with mention only of a few persons who have been noted for their
activity despite their deformity. Tyrtee, Parini, Byron, and
Scott are among the poets who were club-footed; some writers say
that Shakespeare suffered in a slight degree from this deformity.
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