Polydactyly

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Image:Polydactyly 01 Lfoot AP.jpg	Image:Polydactyly 01 Rfoot AP.jpg
Image:Polydactyly 01 Lhand AP.jpg	Image:Polydactyly 01 Rhand AP.jpg
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Polydactyly, or polydactylism, also known as hyperdactyly, is the anatomical abnormality of having more than the usual number of digits on the hands and/or feet. It is a congenital abnormality, usually genetically inherited as an autosomal dominant trait.

Image:Polydactyly.jpg Polydactyls have six or more digits on their hands or feet. The extra digits vary from small pieces of soft tissue to apparently complete digits. In Western societies, they are usually surgically removed during early life.

The condition is reported in about 1 child in every 500, although the frequency varies greatly from population to population. It is higher in some groups (an example is the Amish in the United States) due to the founder effect.

Historically and in the contemporary world, polydactylyism has been associated with witchcraft, psychic power, the extraterrestrial, divine connection, and sporting prowess.

1 Extra fingers in fiction
2 Types of polydactyly
3 See also
4 External links

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Extra fingers in fiction

Count Rugen, one of the primary villains in the book and movie The Princess Bride, has six fingers on his right hand. Hannibal Lecter, from the Thomas Harris series of novels, is another popular fictional polydactyl.

In the cult movie Gattaca, an embellishment of one of Schubert's Impromptus becomes a piece only playable with twelve digits. The duodectactylous pianist provides an interesting contrast to the greater society of "valids", showing that "in-valids" have the potential to exceed the abilities of their "valid" counterparts, much like the protagonist of the movie.

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Types of polydactyly

There are several types of polydactyly, of varying frequency. Here are some of them:

Polydactyly with cleft lip/palate and psychomotor retardation (Varadi-Papp Syndrome)
Polydactyly myopia syndrome
Polydactyly postaxial dental and vertebral
Polydactyly postaxial with median cleft of upper lip
Polydactyly postaxial
Polydactyly preaxial type 1
Polydactyly syndrome middle ray duplication
Polydactyly visceral anomalies cleft lip palate

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