Change of the agenesis rate of palmaris longus muscle in an isolated village in Ukraine

Abstract

Background: The palmaris longus muscle (PLM) is a slender, fusiform muscle which lies on the flexor surface of the forearm. Its agenesis is considered the most frequent anatomic variation in the human body. Agenesis of PLM shows strong racial and ethnic variability. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of agenesis of PLM in Dercen, an isolated Hungarian village in Ukraine.

Materials and methods: Five hundred forty-eight persons were examined by Thompson’s, Shaffer’s, Pushpakumar’s, Mishra’s 1, and Mishra’s 2 tests to confirm or refute the presence of a PLM. All the examined subjects were of Hungarian ethnic origin.

Results: The overall prevalence of absence of the palmaris longus was 52.92%. During the examination, unusual results appeared regarding the agenesis of PLM in the elder population of village. Further tests among elder population shoved that in people born before 1945 the agenesis rate of PLM was higher than 70%, and in villagers born after 1945 the agenesis rate drops by 23%.

Conclusions: In the light of historical events of the country, we can say that the unexpected change of the PLM agenesis rate in 1945 was caused by invasion of soviet army and deportation of local men from their homeland.