Trigger finger : its cause and mechanism / by Adoniram B. Judson.

  • Judson, Adoniram Brown, 1837-1916.
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Trigger finger : its cause and mechanism / by Adoniram B. Judson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    than the extensors the jerk of trigger finger would be more severe in flexion than in extension. This is found to be the case as a rule. And further, it is found that the jerk is lessened or absent when passive is substituted for active motion. These and other experiments are interesting and sustain my proposition to a certain extent, but they are want- ing in scientific accuracy, and their results are not constant. Aside from these experimental observa- tions, the presence of unusual pressure between the joint surfaces when voluntary motion is made by the fingers, and the probable presence of a node on one of the surfaces give sufficient warrant to the following proposition: In trigger finger an ob- stacle of arthritic origin on one of the articulating surfaces is surmounted with momentary hesitation followed by a jerk or sudden acceleration of speed, as the joint moves under the exceptional pressure which voluntary action interposes between the articular surfaces of the digital joints. A-ray views have been taken in this case, but they fail to show any notable change in the bone. Ordinary inspection, however, shows swelling and deformity, with a projection, seen in the figure, on the radial side of the base of the second phalanx of the middle finger. The joint is % inch wider at this point than its fellow of the other hand. Dis- section would probably reveal surface irregularity. It is to be hoped, however, that an autopsy will not be proposed in the immediate future as the joint herein described is part of the still good right hand of the author. There has been no local treatment except by a gutter splint of sheet aluminum applied with a single strip of adhesive plaster to keep the joint extended at night. At the end of the year the jerk