ABOS Surgery of the Hand key terms

A break in the carpal scaphoid bone, usually through its waist, that risks nonunion and avascular necrosis because its blood supply enters from the distal end and flows backward.

An intra-articular fracture at the base of the first metacarpal in which a small volar lip stays attached to the trapezium while the shaft subluxates radially and dorsally.

A comminuted intra-articular fracture of the first metacarpal base with a Y- or T-shaped pattern, more unstable than a Bennett fracture and often needing pins or plates.

A distal radius fracture with dorsal displacement and angulation of the distal fragment, commonly from a fall on an outstretched hand in an older adult.

A distal radius fracture with volar displacement of the distal fragment, sometimes called a garden-spade fracture, often from a fall onto a flexed wrist.

A carpal dislocation in which the lunate stays in its fossa but the capitate and rest of the carpus displace dorsally, often with a scaphoid fracture.

A carpal injury in which the lunate is extruded volarly out of its fossa while the capitate remains aligned with the radius, producing a spilled-teacup appearance.

Tearing of the scapholunate ligament that lets the scaphoid rotate and the gap between scaphoid and lunate widen, causing wrist pain and later arthritis.

Injury to the triangular fibrocartilage complex on the ulnar side of the wrist, causing ulnar wrist pain, clicking, and instability, sometimes treated by repair or debridement.

Disruption of the terminal extensor tendon or its bony insertion at the distal phalanx, so the fingertip droops into flexion at the distal joint.

Avulsion of the flexor digitorum profundus tendon from the distal phalanx, usually in the ring finger, leaving the patient unable to flex the distal joint.

Five numbered regions of the hand and fingers used to describe flexor tendon injuries and to guide surgical repair and rehabilitation based on anatomy and pulley constraints.

A tear of the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb metacarpophalangeal joint after forced radial deviation, which can retract and require surgery if unstable.

A fracture of the fifth metacarpal neck with apex dorsal angulation, usually from punching a firm object, often treated closed if alignment is acceptable.

Disruption of the central slip of the extensor tendon at the proximal interphalangeal joint, producing proximal joint flexion and distal joint extension.

A finger deformity with proximal interphalangeal joint hyperextension and distal joint flexion, caused by imbalance of the extensor mechanism, volar plate, or both.

Avascular necrosis of the lunate bone causing dorsal wrist pain and stiffness, often linked to negative ulnar variance and sometimes treated with revascularization or salvage procedures.

A benign fibroproliferative disorder of the palmar fascia that forms nodules and cords, pulling the metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints into flexion.

Stenosing tenosynovitis at the A1 pulley in which a flexor tendon nodule catches, causing painful clicking or locking, often treated with injection or pulley release.

Painful tenosynovitis of the first dorsal wrist compartment containing the abductor pollicis longus and extensor pollicis brevis tendons, worsened by thumb motion and ulnar deviation.

Degeneration of the trapeziometacarpal joint at the thumb base, causing pinch pain, weakness, and deformity, staged by Eaton and treated from splints to arthroplasty.

A chronic inflammatory arthritis that commonly affects the wrist and small joints of the hand, causing synovitis, tendon ruptures, ulnar drift, and characteristic deformities.

Compression of the median nerve beneath the transverse carpal ligament at the wrist, producing numbness, night pain, and thenar weakness or wasting.

Compression or traction of the ulnar nerve around the elbow, causing numbness in the small and ring fingers and weakness of intrinsic hand muscles.

Compression of the ulnar nerve as it passes through the ulnar tunnel at the wrist, with sensory loss and motor weakness that vary by the level of compression.

A congenital fusion of adjacent digits, described as simple or complex and complete or incomplete, often treated by release and skin grafting in early childhood.

The presence of an extra digit, classified as preaxial, central, or postaxial, ranging from a small skin tag to a fully formed digit that needs reconstruction.

Underdevelopment of the thumb graded by the Blauth classification, from a slightly small thumb to complete absence, with treatment ranging from observation to reconstruction or pollicization.

A congenital deficiency along the radial side of the forearm and hand, often with an absent or hypoplastic thumb and sometimes associated with systemic syndromes.

A fixed flexion posture of the thumb interphalangeal joint in a young child from a Notta nodule, many resolving spontaneously before a small pulley release.

A benign mucin-filled swelling connected to a joint capsule or tendon sheath, most common on the dorsal wrist, often watched or aspirated and sometimes excised.

A small myxoid cyst near the distal interphalangeal joint or nail fold, often linked to osteoarthritis, which may drain or be excised with the joint stalk.

A benign, localized nodular tenosynovitis presenting as a firm, painless finger mass, treated by careful excision because it can recur.

A benign cartilage-forming tumor commonly found in the phalanges, often discovered after a pathologic fracture, treated by curettage and bone grafting if needed.

An infection of the closed pulp space of the distal fingertip that causes throbbing pain and swelling and usually requires surgical drainage plus antibiotics.

An infection of the nail fold or nail bed margin, usually bacterial, treated with warm soaks, antibiotics, and drainage of any abscess.

Infection within the flexor tendon sheath, recognized by Kanavel signs, that threatens the finger and needs urgent surgical irrigation and antibiotics.

A block of tissue moved from one part of the body to another with its blood vessels joined under a microscope to supply the hand or wrist defect.

A segment of donor nerve, often sural, used to bridge a gap in a damaged nerve so regenerating fibers can grow across the defect.

Surgical rejoining of a cut digital nerve, usually with epineurial sutures under magnification, to restore sensation and protect the fingertip.