Hypothesis
Heberden's and Bouchard's nodes
Colin J Alexander
Department of
Anatomy with Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Auckland,
Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
Correspondence to: Professor C J Alexander.
Accepted for publication 10 May 1999
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
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Background information |
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Although they were described in the last century,1 2 digital nodes remain largely unexplained. There is consensus that nodes are a strong marker for interphalangeal osteoarthritis (OA),3 4 they are strongly familial,5-7 and most investigators have concluded that they are caused by osteophytes,8-11 although some have questioned this assumption.12 They are localised, visible lumps differing in the constancy of their location from the palpable osteophytes sometimes detectable in other subcutaneous joints, and occur in two clinical varieties; lateral nodes on the dorsolateral margins (fig 1),2 10 and central midline nodes that may fuse with the lateral variety to form a ridge.13 They may grow slowly or rapidly, may be painful or painless, and they are sometimes associated with pseudocyst formation.8 14 15
| Figure Removed (Available Only in the Full Text) |
Until recently the typical lateral nodes had not been examined
histologically. The only illustrations found have been sagittal sections through the midline node.9 15 This structure has been shown to be not an
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