A morphologic study of the relationship of collateral ligaments to growth plates in the digits

The precise origin and insertion of collateral ligaments to metacarpals and phalanges prior to growth plate closure is not clearly described in textbooks or journals. This study delineates such attachments by gross dissection and microscopic evaluation. Middle and distal phalangeal attachments are to epiphyses and metaphyses, whereas attachments at the metacarpophalangeal joint are almost entirely to the epiphyses of metacarpal and proximal phalanges. The clinical significance of these differences is not known.