| Dupuytren’s contracture -
12-04-2006, 05:32 AM
As our final exams are getting closer, today I was going through the anatomy of the forearm and hand where I came across a condition called Dupuytren’s contracture. I was wondering about the history behind this name. Then I went through available literature to find out some really interesting facts.
Dupuytren’s contracture is condition which occurs due to the fibrosis of the palmar aponeurosis which produces a flexion deformity of the finger at the metacarpophalangeal and inter-phalangeal joints. This is resulted from the progressive shortening of the palmar aponeurosis usually affecting the medial part of the aponeurosis and hence the little and ring fingers.
Looking back at the history of this condition we can find some folklore that the condition was spread by the Vikings (a member of any of the Scandinavian peoples who carried out seaborne raids and invasions of various parts of northwestern Europe from the 8th to 11th centuries ad.). Even today the condition typically affects elderly men of Northern European descent. In early times it was believed to be a curse on the bagpipe craftsmanship of the MacCrimmon clan and an explanation for the curling of the papal “hand of benediction”
Now talking about person whose name goes with this condition – Baron Dupuytren was a person who rose from poverty to be the leading surgeon of France, a baron of the empire and a millionare. Its really amazing to know that his as a medical student he was compelled to use the fat of subjects in the dissecting room to make oil for his lamp. From this we can make out that he was a person of great determination who ultimately overcame all obstacles and hardships. Later as a surgeon it was said of him that ‘Dupuytren was the god of Surgery’ and the supreme self confidence of this Surgeon can be summarized in his own words “I have been mistaken, but I have been mistaken less than other Surgeons”
References:
1. Bailey and Bishop’s Notable Names in Medicine and Surgery Lewis London 1983
2. Cunningham’s Manual of Practical Anatomy Fifteenth Edition OUP 1986
3. Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2005
4. Townley et al Dupuytren’s Contracture Unfolded BMJ Feb 2006 332:373-432 No7538
5. Elliot D. The early history of Dupuytren’s disease. Hand Clin 1999;15:1-19,v
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