title: The prevalence of absence of the palmaris longus--a study in a Chinese population and a review of the literature.
abstract: Most standard textbooks of hand surgery quote the prevalence of absence of palmaris longus at around 15%. However, this figure varies considerably in reports from different ethnic groups. We studied 329 Chinese men and women and found palmaris longus to be absent unilaterally in 3.3%, and bilaterally in 1.2%, with an overall prevalence of absence of 4.6%. There was no significant difference in its absence with regard to the body side or the sex. Our literature review revealed a low prevalence of absence in Asian, Black and Native American populations and a much higher prevalence of absence in Caucasian populations. It is clear that a standard prevalence of absence of the palmaris longus cannot be applied to all populations.
authors: Department of Hand & Reconstructive Microsurgery, National University Hospital, Singapore.
authors: S J
authors: SJ
authors: Sebastin
authors: M E
authors: ME
authors: Puhaindran
authors: A Y T
authors: AY
authors: Lim
authors: I J
authors: IJ
authors: Lim
authors: W H
authors: WH
authors: Bee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D044469:Racial Groups; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D013710:Tendons / Q000002:abnormalities*; D014953:Wrist / Q000033:anatomy & histology*