Frequency Of Agenesis Of The Palmaris Longus Muscle In Nigerians

This study was carried out to document the percentages of palmaris longus muscle amongst Nigeria for anthropological purposes.Three thousand (3,000) Nigerian subjects comprising 6000 extremities out of which 1932 (3864 extremities) were males and 1068 (2136 extremities) were females were inspected for the frequency of agenesis (absence) of the palmaris longus muscles. The presence or absence of palmaris longus was determined by physical examination of the palmaris longus tendon at the wrists of both hands. The muscle was made visible by opposing the thumb on the little finger and slightly flexing the wrist joint (in vivo examination). The frequency of agenesis of this muscle based on sex, side of the body and the overall incidence were determined. From the study, the muscle was found to be absent in 0.16% of the males on the right side and 0.19% of the females on the right side. On the left side, it was absent in 0.21% of males and 0.09% of females. On the average, percentage of agenesis was 0.18% in males and 0.14% in females. Thus the percentage was higher in males than females. The overall percentage of agenesis in Nigerians was 0.17%. This percentage is much lower than other populations. Bilateral absence was found in one male subject. There was no case of bilateral agenesis in females. The result is also reliable for anthropological studies involving Nigerians .It could be a useful guide to clinicians who may want to localize the median nerve amongst Nigerians.The tendon can still be counted on by surgeons treating Nigerian patients for use as a donor tendon, which will be present in a vast majority of Nigerian patients.