Frequency and Characteristics of Metacarpal Pseudoepiphyses in Healthy Children Aged 5-15 Years
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Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Metacarpal Small Incision for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Published on: April 5, 2024
Mustafa Gök1, Sebla Güneş2, Ahmet Anık2
1Department of Radiology, Aydin Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, Turkıye; Department of Health Sciences, University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health, New South Wales, Australia; Imaging and Phenotyping Laboratory, University of Sydney, Charles Perkins Centre, New South Wales, Australia.
Objective:
Pseudoepiphyses are notches and clefts located at the non-epiphyseal ends of the metacarpal bones. There are very few studies regarding the frequency of pseudoepiphysis.
Material And Methods:
Subjects between the ages of 5 and 15, whose hand radiographs were obtained between 2015 and 2021 in our Radiology Department, were included in this study. A total of 1071 patients were included in the study. A single radiologist evaluated these radiographs in 3 different time periods. Pseudoepiphyses that involve one cortex of the metacarpal bone are considered as partial pseudoepiphyses, whereas those that involve both cortices are considered as complete pseudoepiphyses.
Results:
Of the 1071 patients included in the study, 65.9% (n = 706) were girls. The mean age was 9.5 ± 2.6 years. Pseudoepiphysis was detected in 222 (20.7%) cases. Pseudoepiphysis was more common in boys (27.4%) than girls (17.3%) (P < .001). The frequency of partial pseudoepiphysis was found to be significantly higher than that of complete pseudoepiphysis [n = 212 (19.8%) and n = 20 (1.9%), respectively, P < .001]. Partial pseudoepiphysis was most frequently detected in the second metacarpal bone, and complete pseudoepiphysis was most frequently detected in the first metacarpal bone. Of 222 cases with pseudoepiphysis, 76.6% (n = 170) had in 1 location, while 21.2% (n = 47) had in 2 locations, 1.8% (n = 4) in 3 locations, and 0.5% (n = 1) in 4 locations.
Conclusion:
Pseudoepiphysis is a normal variant of metacarpal ossification; it does not adversely affect the development of the bone and is frequently seen in healthy children.
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