| Single transverse palmar crease | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
Single transverse palmar crease on an infant's hand |
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| ICD-9 | 757.2 (CDC/BPA 757.200) |
In humans, a single transverse palmar crease is a single crease that extends across the palm of the hand, formed by the fusion of the two palmar creases (the heart line and the head line) that people typically have.[1][2] Because it resembles the usual condition of non-human simians, it is also known as a simian crease or simian line, although these terms have widely fallen out of favor due to their pejorative connotation.[3]
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Single palmar creases are less common than two palmar creases, however 10 per cent of the population have one palmar crease on one hand and 5 per cent have one palmar crease on both hands. This is sometimes associated with Down's syndrome but in the unlikely event of your baby being affected there would be other physical signs. [4]
Males are twice as likely as females to have this characteristic, and it tends to run in families. In its non-symptomatic form, it is more common among Asians and Native Americans than among other populations, and in some families there is a tendency to inherit the condition unilaterally, that is, on one hand only.
The presence of a single transverse palmar crease can be, but is not always, a symptom associated with abnormal medical conditions, such as fetal alcohol syndrome, or with genetic chromosomal abnormalities, including Down syndrome (chromosome 21), cri du chat syndrome (chromosome 5), Klinefelter syndrome, Noonan syndrome (chromosome 12), Patau syndrome (chromosome 13), Edward's syndrome (chromosome 18), and Aarskog-Scott syndrome (X-linked recessive). Bilateral or unilateral single palmar creases are also associated with aberrations on chromosome 9.[5] It is also sometimes found on the hand of the affected side of patients with Poland Syndrome and craniosynostosis.
