Prevalence of agenesis of palmaris longus muscle and its association with gender, body side, handedness and other anomalies of the forearm in a student population in Ghana

Objective: To determine the prevalence of absence of palmaris longus (PL) and its association with gender, handedness, body side and other neighboring anomalies in a Ghanaian population. Methodology: A total of 210 subjects were examined for the presence of flexor digitorium superficialis (FDS) to the little finger. The prevalence of agenesis of PL was determined using the standard technique; in subjects with an absent PL, four other tests were done to confirm the absence. An Allen's test was done to assess the palmer arches. Results: The overall prevalence of agenesis of PL was 3.8% with no significant difference (p>0.05) in terms of gender, body side and handedness However, unilateral absence on the right side was more common (p=0.0302) in females. None of the subjects with absent PL had a concomitant absence of FDS to the little or anomalous superficial palmer arch or both. Conclusion: The prevalence of agenesis of PL in the Ghanaian population is much lower than values coated in standard textbooks of surgery. Also, it seems that the prevalence of agenesis of PL is independent of body side, handedness and neighboring anomalies like functional loss of FDS to the little finger and anomalous SPA.