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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Point-of-Care Kidney and Genitourinary Ultrasound in Adults: Image Acquisition
Published on: June 21, 2024
Bilateral hands and feet postaxial polydactyly presenting with renal vascular anomalies
1Department of Anatomy/Histology, Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. agesase@muchs.ac.tz
Abstract:
The current Observation reports polydactyly of both the hands and feet in a 36 years old male cadaver that presented also with supernumerary renal vessels. The right kidney received the upper and lower supernumerary renal arteries from the abdominal aorta and was drained by the two renal veins. The anterior and posterior supernumerary renal veins opened separately into the inferior vena cava. Observations on the limbs revealed the presence of six digits in the four limbs. In the hands the extra digit contained two phalanges and rudimentary metacarpals that were pear-shaped. The pointed ends of the metacarpals articulated with the soft tissue at the lateral side of the fifth digit and the base articulated with the proximal phalanx. In the feet the proximal phalanges in the extra digits articulated with the anomalous metatarsals. The left foot presented with bifurcated fifth metatarsal and the most lateral part articulated with the extra digit. In the left foot the extra toes was pointing upward away from the plantar surface. Close observations revealed an oblique shaped cavity on the lateral surface of the fifth metatarsal. The cavity was situated about 1cm from the distal end of the fifth metatarsal. It contained short ligaments and its upper part articulated with the head of the proximal phalanx. The current observations has documented for the first time the occurrence of renal vascular anomalies with polydactyly of both hands and feet.
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