Three cases of sesamoid bone pathology are presented, including two cases of sesamoid fracture and a case of sesamoid periostitis. The literature is reviewed.
Sesamoid bones probably function in the body as pulleys. Most people have five sesamoid bones in each hand. Two at the thumb metacarpophalangeal joint, one at the interphalangeal joint of the thumb, one at the metacarpophalangeal joint of the index finger on the radial side, and one at the metacarpophalangeal joint of the little finger on the ulnar side.
Sesamoid bones have been seen with periostitis in Reiter’s syndrome. The medial sesamoid bone of the thumb metacarpophalangeal is frequently enlarged in acromegaly. The sesamoid bones of the thumb have been fractured or trapped inside the joint during injury to the thumb metacarpophalangeal joint.
The treatment of disabling pain in a sesamoid bone is enucleation of the bone.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ANTON, HC (1972). Hand Measurements in Acromegaly, Clinical Radiology, 23, 445-450.
2.
BIZARRO, AH (1920–21). On Sesamoid and Supernumerary Bones of the Limbs. Journal of Anatomy, 55, 256-268.
3.
DUNCAN, TR (1975). Validity of the Sesamoid Index in the Diagnosis of Acromegaly. Radiology, 115, 617-619.
4.
FAWCETT, E (1896). On the Sesamoid Bones of the Hand. A Skiagraphic Confirmation of the Work Done by Pfitzner. Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, 31, 157-161.
5.
FELDMAN, F, R POCHACZEVSKY, and H HECHT (1970). The Case of the Wandering Sesamoid and Other Sesamoid Afflictions, Radiology, 96, 275-283.
6.
HUBAY, CA (1949). Sesamoid Bones of The Hands and Feet. The American Journal of Roentgenology and Radium Therapy, 61, 493-505.
7.
INOUE, H, T TERAMOTO, S SASAHARA, and T MIYAGI (1969). Impaction of the sesamoid bone into the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb—Study of eight cases. Orthopaedic Surgery (Tokyo), 20, 1453-1454.
8.
JELLINGER, DL (1947). Fracture of a Sesamoid Bone of the Thumb. Report of a Case. American Journal of Roentgenology and Radium Therapy, 57, 619-621.
9.
JOSEPH, J (1951). The Sesamoid Bones of the Hand at the Time of Fusion of the Epiphyses of the Thumb. Journal of Anatomy, 85, 230-241.
10.
KAPLAN, EB (1965). Functional and Surgical Anatomy of the Hand, Second Edition (pp. 90-94). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company.
11.
KASSATKIN, S (1934). Die Sesambeine der Hand und des Fusses des Mensche. Zeitschrift für Anotomie und Entwicklungsgeschichte, 102, 635-654.
12.
KLEINBERG, DL, IS YOUNG, and HS KUPPERMAN (1966). The Sesamoid Index 91. An Aid in the Diagnosis of Acromegaly. Annals of Internal Medicine, 64, 1075-1078.
13.
KOBAYASHI, A, M MITSUYASU, A MATSUZAKI, and M MOROOKA (1968). One Case of the Metacarpophalangeal Joint of the Thumb. Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery (Tokyo), 3, 65-67.
14.
KOHLER, A, and EA ZIMMER (1968). Borderlands of the Normal and Early Pathologic in Skeletal Roentgenology. In , Third Edition (pp. 82-84). New York: London Grune and Stratton.
15.
LEÓNI, , and mm MARUANI (1936). Fracture du Sesamo¿de Interne du Gros Orteil. J. de. Radiologic et d’Electrologie, 20, 623.
16.
MICHON, LOUIS ET BEAUPÈRE (1933). Fracture du sésamoide externe du gros orteil, Ablation du sésamoide. Guérison Lyon Chirurgical, 30, 584-586.
17.
NUTTER, PD (1940). Interposition of Sesamoids in Metacarpophalangeal Dislocations. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 22, 730-734.
18.
PFITZNER, W (1892). Die Sesambeine des Menschlichen Körpers. Morphologische Arbeiten de Schwalbe, 1, 517-762.
19.
REITZ, GB (1946). Trauma to the Sesamoid Bones of the Thumb. The American Journal of Surgery, 72, 284-285.
20.
ROYER, M (1937). Fracture du Sésamo¿de Interne du Gros Orteil. Journal de Radiologic et D’Electrologie, 20, 623.
21.
SCOBIE, WH (1941). Crush Fracture of Sesamoid Bone of Thumb. British Medical Journal, 2, 912.
22.
SINBERG, SE (1940). Fracture of Sesamoid of The Thumb. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 22, 444-445.
23.
SKILLERN, PG (1915). On Fractures of the Sesamoid Bones of the Thumb. Annals of Surgery, 62, 297-301.
24.
STADALNIK, RC, and AB DUBLIN (1975). Sesamoid Periostitis in the Thumb in Reiter’s Syndrome—Case Report. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 57-A, 279.
25.
STREATFEILD, T, and HF GRIFFITHS (1934). Fracture of a Sesamoid Bone, Lancet, 1, 1117.
26.
TSUGE, K, and S WATARI (1974). Locking Metacarpophalangeal Joint of the Thumb, The Hand, 6, 255-260.
27.
VOLUTER, G, and A COLAME (1948). Contribution à l’Étude Radiologique et Clinique des Fractures du Sésamo¿de Radial du Pouce. Journal de Radiologic et d’Électrologie, 29, 569-572.
28.
WITZIG, E, and F THEVENOZ (1949). Contirution à la Pathologie et à la Traumatologie des Sésamo¿des (À propos d’un cas de fracture des Sésamo¿des du pouce) Revue d’Orthopédie et de Chirurgie de l’Appareil Moteur, 35, 364-370.
