A Clinical and Experimental Study on Longitudinal Deficiencies in Lower Limbs in Relation to Pathogenesis of Cleft Foot

Abstract In order to determine whether cleft foot is caused by the same mechanism as tibial and fibular ray deficiencies, clinical cases of these anomalies and those in rat fetuses induced by myleran were analyzed. In tibial and fibular ray deficiencies, arrest of tibia or fibula was closely related to the missing of toes and tibial and fibular ray deficiencies can be accepted as an occurrence of so called longitudinal deficiency. On the other hand, cleft feet were frequently associated with central Polydactyly and syndactyly. In our experimental study, the critical period of formation of cleft foot was different from that of tibial ray deficiency, but it was similar to those of central Polydactyly and syndactyly. It seems that cleft foot is caused by the abnormal induction of toe rays as in cleft hand and does not belong to the same group as tibial and fibular ray deficiencies.