Hemimelia is a birth defect consisting in unilateral or bilateral underdevelopment of the distal part of the lower or upper limb.[1] The affected bone may be shortened or not develop at all.[2][3]
Types of hemimelia
Transverse hemimelia is a congenital absence of part or all of a limb (including hand or foot) and is called amelia when the entire limb is missing.[2][4]
Paraxial hemimelia means partial absence of one of the elements of the limb in the longitudinal axis (in phocomelia there is no complete absence of a part of the limb).[2]
Sub types of hemimelia are the following:
Fibular hemimelia, Congenital longitudinal deficiency of the fibula or fibular longitudinal meromelia[5]
Tibial hemimelia, Congenital longitudinal deficiency of the tibia, Congenital aplasia and dysplasia of the tibia with intact fibula, Congenital longitudinal deficiency of the tibia or tibial longitudinal meromelia[6]
Radial hemimelia, Congenital longitudinal deficiency of the radius, radial clubhand, radial longitudinal meromelia or radial ray agenesis[7]
Ulnar hemimelia, Congenital longitudinal deficiency of the ulna, ulnar clubhand or ulnar longitudinal meromelia[8]
References
^"hemimelia", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2023-03-20