Morphology of plantar interdigital neuroma: a comparative cadaveric study of elderly Finnish and Japanese individuals.

Abstract

To examine morphological differences in Morton's interdigital neuroma between two elderly human populations, we conducted comparative study using 40 Japanese (27 males, 13 females; mean age, 81.2 years) and 21 Finnish (6 males, 15 females; mean age, 80.5 years) cadavers. We defined the neuroma as a thickening of the nerve of at least two-fold relative to the non-pathological proximal part. The incidence of this neuroma was 25% (10/40) in the Japanese and 33.3% (7/21) in the Finnish cadavers. Moderate or severe hallux valgus (with an angle of more than 20 degrees) was seen in half of the 40 Japanese cadavers (7 males, 13 females), but was absent in the Finnish cadavers. Such hallux valgus was present in 7 (5 males, 2 females) of the 10 Japanese cadavers with neuroma. Moreover, in 2 Japanese cadavers, a paper-like, specialized type of neuroma was associated with the deformity. Pathogenesis of Morton's neuroma might be different between human populations with or without hallux valgus.