Hemimelia
Medical condition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hemimelia is a birth defect consisting in unilateral or bilateral underdevelopment of the distal part of the lower or upper limb.[1] The affected bone may be shortened or not develop at all.[2][3]
Other namesLongitudinal meromelia
| Hemimelia | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Longitudinal meromelia |
| |
| Terminal defect of an arm with transverse, incomplete hemimelia | |
| Specialty | Medical genetics  |
Types of hemimelia
Transverse hemimelia is a congenital absence of part or all of a limb (including hand or foot) and is called amelia when the entire limb is missing.[2][4] Paraxial hemimelia means partial absence of one of the elements of the limb in the longitudinal axis (in phocomelia there is no complete absence of a part of the limb).[2]
Sub types of hemimelia are the following:
- Fibular hemimelia, Congenital longitudinal deficiency of the fibula or fibular longitudinal meromelia[5]
- Tibial hemimelia, Congenital longitudinal deficiency of the tibia, Congenital aplasia and dysplasia of the tibia with intact fibula, Congenital longitudinal deficiency of the tibia or tibial longitudinal meromelia[6]
- Radial hemimelia, Congenital longitudinal deficiency of the radius, radial clubhand, radial longitudinal meromelia or radial ray agenesis[7]
- Ulnar hemimelia, Congenital longitudinal deficiency of the ulna, ulnar clubhand or ulnar longitudinal meromelia[8]