Pathophysiology of Ainhum?
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The origin of the term ainhum is unclear. In 1867, the term was used by da Silva Lima from Bahia, Brazil to report the first published case. The word ainhum means fissure in the language of the Nagos tribe of Brazil and may be related to ayun, the word for saw in the Lagos tribe of Nigeria. The synonym for ainhum is dactylolysis spontanea.
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@udipta In true ainhum, dactylolysis of a toe (most commonly, but not always, the fifth toe) most likely is triggered by trauma; however, the true cause remains unknown. The trauma may be related to walking barefoot in the tropics. A fibrotic band develops from a flexural groove and progressively constricts the full radius of the toe until spontaneous autoamputation occurs. A similar progression occurs in pseudoainhum because of a collagen band, rather than from fibrosis. Pseudoainhum may be acquired or congenital as discussed in a father and son case that described differing types of constricting bands