Cleft hand without absence of a finger.

Cleft hand implies a central longitudinal defect. In this paper, six cases of cleft hand with a normal number of digits are reported. Such clefts are less severe than those in which fingers are missing. In our cases, associated anomalies of the upper extremities were cutaneous syndactyly and a more severe cleft hand with an absent finger. Those of the lower extremities were polydactyly, syndactyly, and cleft foot. The clinical features of cleft hand with a normal digital count were similar to those with a missing finger. It is supposed that the teratogenic mechanism of such cleft hands are the same that is the failure of separation of finger rays. Cone shaped cleft of the hand is one of the phenotypes of the anomaly caused by the failure of differentiation of finger rays.