Symphalangism, Strabismus and Hearing Loss in Mother and Daughter

Abstract

ABSENCE of a joint between the proximal and middle phalanges has been termed symphalangism,1 phalangeal anarthrosis (synostosis, ankylosis),2 "shuffle fingers"3 and "stiff fingers."1 In an English family the defect has been traced back fourteen generations to John Talbot, first Earl of Shrewsbury, who was born in 1390.3 It extends through a longer period than any other anatomic abnormality, with the exception of the Hapsburg jaw, which also originates in the fourteenth century.2 Several pedigrees of symphalangism have been recorded in the United States,1 , 4 5 6 7 8 but in most of them a connection with the English family, though suggested, could not be firmly . . .