Familial congenital bowing with short thick bones and metaphyseal changes, a distinct entity. Report of the clinical and radiological findings in two siblings.

The authors describe two siblings, a male and a female, with disproportionate short stature, rhizomelic-mesomelic shortening of the limb bones, marked bowing of the femora, moderate bowing of the humeri, radii and ulnae, straight tibiae and fibulae, normal hands, flared cupped metaphyses of the tibiae, ulnae, radii and ribs, and narrow chest. There was some improvement of the bone changes with advancing age. These two patients are similar to five other cases from the literature and strongly support Hall and Spranger's view that this pseudocampomelic condition most likely represents a distinct familial bowing syndrome. The differential diagnosis and the hereditary aspects in the two patients, are also briefly discussed.