Arachnodactyly (Dolichosténomélie of Marfan)

Abstract

Arachnodactyly, or spider digits, was first recognized as a clinical entity by Marfan in 1896, and since then a considerable number of cases have been described; thus in 1938 Futcher and Southworth were able to find two hundred examples in the literature. Reviews of the condition have been made by Marfan (1938) and Clément (1939). Its relationship to oligophrenia has never been stressed, but since skeletal and ocular abnormalities are so frequent in defectives, it is not surprising that cases of arachnodactyly should also be found.