Another look at the intertendinous connections: a dynamic study based on palpation, ultrasonography, and dissection.

PURPOSE: To explore the feasibility of a dynamic exploration of the intertendinous connections using palpation to capture their haptic characteristics and movement during finger flexion, and ultrasonography to reveal their structure, relationships, and precise measurements.

METHODS

The authors utilized palpation and ultrasonography, blind to each other’s findings, as well as anatomical dissection.

RESULTS

Both palpation and ultrasonography revealed the intertendinous connections, except for their thickness, which was noted by the latter. Palpation also showed the distal excursion of the intertendinous connections during finger flexion and increased tension during finger separation. Dissection provided anatomical details of tendons, intertendinous connections, and their distal excursion with metacarpophalangeal joint flexion with limitations posed by tissue preservation.

CONCLUSIONS

Palpation and ultrasonography, with a background of dissection, offered new and complementary insights into the intertendinous connections, which previously had been subject to a painstaking morphological approach. As key take-home messages, the authors submit that palpation and ultrasonography, which are eminently dynamic and cost-effective, apply to the intertendinous connections. More generally, palpation and ultrasonography are largely untapped source of hypotheses worthy of anatomical investigation.