What causes webbed fingers?

Answer 1

Doctors call this condition syndactyly. Webbed fingers or toes can be part of Turner's Syndrome, which is a chromosomal disorder that affects only females. It involves the absence of all or part of one of the sex chromosomes. Normal female chromosomes are expressed as XX. In Turner's Syndrome, the sex chromosomes are expressed as XO, to indicate that there is a chromosome missing. More commonly though, syndactyly is caused by a genetic defect, and is therefore found to run in families. It is found in both males and females who have the normal arrangement of sex chromosomes: XX for females; XY for males. There are five different types of syndactyly which are classified according to which fingers or toes are involved. This condition can be corrected by surgery, which often involves a small skin graft from another part of the body. With the milder types of syndactyly, surgery can be considered elective (that is, not strictly necessary.) However, when fusion of the fingers or toes is extensive, or when the fusion will cause deformity as the fingers and hands grow, surgery is necessary.

Answer 2

Webbed fingers and webbed toes are a dominant genetic trait.

• Marfan's syndrome
• Antley-Bixler syndrome
• Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
• Marden-Walker syndrome
• Homocystineuria
• Spondylocostal dysostosis

This is a list of genetic syndromes that can include webbed fingers.