• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.288-292
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• 2023

In the foot, the lumbricals flex the metatarsophalangeal joints and extend the interphalangeal joints. The lumbricals are known to be affected in neuropathies. It is not known whether they may degenerate in normal individuals. Here, we report our findings of isolated degenerated lumbricals in seemingly normal feet of two cadavers. We explored lumbricals in 20 male and 8 female cadavers that were 60-80 years of age at the time of death. As part of routine dissection, we exposed the tendons of the flexor digitorum longus and the lumbricals. From the degenerated lumbricals, we took some tissue for paraffin-embedding, sectioning, and staining by hematoxylin and eosin, and Masson's trichrome technique. Of the 224 lumbricals studied, we found four apparently degenerated lumbricals in two male cadavers. In the first, the 2nd and 4th lumbricals in the left foot and the 2nd in the right foot were degenerated. In the second, the right 4th lumbrical was degenerated. Microscopically, the degenerated tissue was made of bundles of collagen. The lumbricals may have degenerated due to compression of their nerve supply. We cannot comment on whether the functionality of the feet were affected by these isolated degeneration of the lumbricals.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.150-154
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• 2023

During the deep dissection of the front of the forearm, an anomalous accessory muscle in relation to the flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) muscle was observed in the right forearm. The accessory muscle consisted of a spindle-shaped muscle belly with a long tendon underneath the flexor pollicis longus muscle. When followed distally, the accessory muscle tendon was found lateral to the FDP tendon for the index finger and entered the palm deep to the flexor retinaculum. In the palm, we encountered the first lumbrical muscle as a bipennate muscle taking origin from the adjacent sides of the middle of the tendons of FDP and accessory muscle tendon. After giving origin to first lumbrical muscle, the accessory muscle got merged with the tendon of FDP for index finger. Understanding this kind of variation is required for radiologists and hand surgeons for diagnostic purposes and while performing corrective surgical procedures.