Congenital absence of the palmaris longus muscle: A meta-analysis comparing cadaveric and functional studies

Abstract

The aim of our paper was to provide comprehensive data on the prevalence of absence of palmaris longus muscle (PLM) and its anatomical characteristics and conduct two separate meta-analyses comparing cadaveric and functional studies while identifying variation among different ethnic groups. An extensive search was conducted through the major electronic databases to identify eligible articles. Data extracted included prevalence of absence of PLM among subjects, ethnicity, laterality, side, and gender. Our main findings revealed that the absence of PLM is more frequently reported in functional studies. Moreover, functional tests likely overestimated the absence of PLM and recommend future studies to assess the validity of functional tests and use an imaging assessment prior to excluding the use of a palmaris longus tendon graft in patients in whom a function test identified the absence of PLM.

Keywords: Absence; Anatomy; Graft; Palmaris longus muscle; Tendon.