College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
Clin Anat. 2010 Nov;23(8):956-61. doi: 10.1002/ca.21034.
Absence of the palmaris longus muscle has been well documented in several populations at a prevalence rate ranging between 2.2 and 63.9% which varies according to race, sex, and side of the body. There is little documentation of the prevalence of absence of this muscle from populations in the Arabian Gulf region. We examined 1,043 subjects, 3-85 years old, from the Kingdom of Bahrain for the presence or absence of the palmaris longus muscle using the conventional test for the presence of this muscle. Statistical analyses investigated the association of muscle absence with sex, hand dominance, and laterality. The palmaris longus muscle was absent in 36.8% of subjects. Bilateral absence (19%) was more common than unilateral absence (17.9%) with preponderance in female subjects. The muscle was absent more often on the left side than the right (P = 0.003). In the right upper limbs the muscle was absent in female subjects more than male subjects (P = 0.031). This study reaffirms that there is population variation in the frequency of absence of the palmaris longus muscle. The tendon of the palmaris longus bifurcated at the wrist in 7.1% of subjects, with male subjects showing this feature more frequently than female subjects in the right hand (P = 0.037) and the left hand (P = 0.030). This has not been reported before. The clinical significance of our findings is discussed.
掌长肌缺失在多个人群中已有充分的记载，其流行率在 2.2%至 63.9%之间，这取决于种族、性别和身体的一侧。关于阿拉伯海湾地区人群中该肌肉缺失的流行情况，文献记载较少。我们使用常规方法检查了来自巴林王国的 1043 名 3-85 岁的受试者，以确定掌长肌是否存在。统计学分析调查了肌肉缺失与性别、惯用手和侧别的关联。36.8%的受试者没有掌长肌。双侧缺失（19%）比单侧缺失（17.9%）更为常见，且女性居多。肌肉在左侧比右侧更常见缺失（P = 0.003）。在右侧上肢，女性受试者的肌肉缺失多于男性（P = 0.031）。这项研究再次证实，掌长肌缺失的频率在人群中存在差异。7.1%的受试者的掌长肌腱在腕部分叉，右手（P = 0.037）和左手（P = 0.030）中男性出现这种特征的频率高于女性。这在此前的研究中尚未报道过。我们还讨论了研究结果的临床意义。
