An anatomy student by the name of Alfred Poland made the first documented observation in 1841 at Guy’s Hospital in London. Alfred Poland discovered this extraordinary and unexplored abnormality while dissecting the cadaver of a convict that was hung for murder. The description Alfred Poland first provided was that of a congenital thoracic anomalies involving the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor with additional abnormalities on the affected side of the body (ipsilateral) consisting of webbed or fused phalanges (syndactyly). The term Poland’s Syndactyly was used to describe this disorder until 1967 when Baudinne renamed it, Poland’s Syndrome. It was felt that the condition would be more accurate if referred to as a syndrome because there were many anomalies then just syndactyly.

Today, the laymen’s definition of Poland’s Syndrome consists of a developmental disorder that is present at birth. It is characterized by the absence or unde

rdevelopment of chest muscles (pectoralis major, pectoralis minor) and abnormally short, webbed fingers or absence of middle phalanges. Additional finding might include underdeveloped or absence of one nipple or breast on the affected side. More extreme cases exhibit upper underdeveloped ribs and or an abnormally short arm with underdeveloped forearm bones. Unfortunately the limitation of Poland’s Syndrome deformity doesn’t always cease here. The medical society has documented isolated cases over the past 100 years of chest wall disfigurement, lung herniation and spine curvature. Abnormalities involving the clavicle, scapula, kidney, testes, heart and associated occurrences of leukemia were also observed in patients with Poland’s Syndrome.

The most recent medical studies given on this irregularity in the past 40-50 years has confirmed that Poland’s Syndrome begins within the thorax and is confined unilaterally. Any additional unilateral abnormalities affecting the extremities or nearby musculoskeletal components vary in severity. For an accurate diagnosis of Poland’s Syndrome to be made it must include the congenital partial or total absence of the pectoralis major muscle with or without the loss of the pectoralis minor muscle.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 953
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)