Characteristics are:

- A fibrous band instead of the fibula

- Short deformed leg

- Absence of the lateral part of the ankle joint (due to absence of the distal end of the fibula), and what is left is unstable; the foot has an equinovalgus deformity

- Possible absence of part of the foot requiring surgical intervention to bring the foot into normal function, or amputation.

- Possible absence of one or two toes on the foot

- Possible conjoined toes or metatarsals

Partial or total absence of fibula is among the most frequent limb anomalies. It is the most common long bone deficiency and is the most common skeletal deformity in the leg. It most often is unilateral (present only on one side). It may also present as bilateral (affecting both legs). Paraxial fibular hemimelia is the most common manifestation in which only the postaxial portion of the limb is affected. It is commonly seen as a complete terminal deficiency, where the lateral rays of the foot are also affected. Hemimelia can also be intercalary in which case the foot remains unaffected. Although the missing bone is easily identified, this condition is not simply a missing bone. Males are affected twice as often as females in most series.

Oligodactyly (from the Ancient Greek "oligos" meaning "few" and δάκτυλος "daktylos" meaning "finger") is the presence of fewer than five fingers or toes on a hand or foot.

It is quite often incorrectly called "hypodactyly", but the Greek prefixes and are used for scales (e.g. in hypoglycaemia and hypercholesterolemia). This as opposed to or scales, where and should be used (e.g. in oligarchy and polygamy). Oligodactyly is therefore the opposite of polydactyly. Very rare, this medical condition usually has a genetic or familial cause.

Oligodactyly is sometimes a sign or symptom of several syndromes including Poland syndrome and Weyer Ulnar Ray Syndrome. It is a type of Dysmelia.

Ectrodactyly is an extreme instance of oligodactyly, involving the absence of one or more central digits of the hand or foot and is also known as split hand/split foot malformation (SHFM). The hands and feet of people with ectrodactyly are often described as "claw-like" and may include only the thumb and one finger (usually either the little finger, ring finger, or a syndactyly of the two) with similar abnormalities of the feet.

People with oligodactyly often have full use of the remaining digits and adapt well to their condition. They are not greatly hindered in their daily activities, if at all. Even those with the most extreme forms are known to engage in tasks that require fine control, such as writing and bootmaking as well as working as a cab driver.

Vadoma people of Zimbabwe have a high frequency of oligodactyly.

In the above brachydactyly syndromes, short digits are the most prominent of the anomalies, but in many other syndromes (Down syndrome, Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, etc.), brachydactyly is a minor feature compared to the other anomalies or problems comprising the syndrome.

Additional findings that may be present in HFGS according to the latest research are:

- Limited metacarpophalangeal flexion of the thumb or limited ability to oppose the thumb and fifth finger

- Hypoplastic thenar eminences

- Medial deviation of the great toe (hallux varus), a useful diagnostic sign when present

- Small great toenail

- Fifth-finger clinodactyly, secondary to a shortened middle phalanx

- Short feet

- Altered dermatoglyphics of the hands; when present, primarily involving distal placement of the axial triradius, lack of thenar or hypothenar patterning, low arches on the thumbs, thin ulnar loops (deficiency of radial loops and whorls), and a greatly reduced ridge count on the fingers

Radiographic findings

- Hypoplasia of the distal phalanx and first metacarpal of the thumbs and great toes

- Pointed distal phalanges of the thumb

- Lack of normal tufting of the distal phalanges of the great toes

- Fusions of the cuneiform to other tarsal bones or trapezium-scaphoid fusion of the carpals

- Short calcaneus

- Occasional bony fusions of the middle and distal phalanges of the second, third, fourth, or fifth toes

- Delayed carpal or tarsal maturation

- Metacarpophalangeal profile reflecting shortening of the first metacarpal, the first and second phalanges, and the second phalanx of the second and fifth digits

Urogenital Defects

Females may have the following:

- Vesicoureteral reflux secondary to ureteric incompetence

- Ectopic ureteral orifices

- Trigonal hypoplasia

- Hypospadiac urethra

- Subsymphyseal epispadias

- Patulous urethra

- Urinary incontinence (related to structural anomalies and weakness of the bladder sphincter muscle)

- Small hymenal opening

- Various degrees of incomplete Müllerian fusion with or without two cervices or a longitudinal vaginal septum

Males may have the following:

- Retrograde ejaculation (related to structural anomalies and weakness of the bladder sphincter muscle)

Aneuploidy is often fatal, but in this case there is "X-inactivation" where the effect of the additional gene dosage due to the presence of extra X chromosomes is greatly reduced.

Much like Down syndrome, the mental effects of 49,XXXXY syndrome vary. Impaired speech and behavioral problems are typical. Those with 49,XXXXY syndrome tend to exhibit infantile secondary sex characteristics with sterility in adulthood and have some skeletal anomalies. Skeletal anomalies include:

- Genu valgum

- Pes cavus

- Fifth finger clinodactyly

The effects also include:

- Cleft palate

- Club feet

- Respiratory conditions

- Short or/and broad neck

- Low birth weight

- Hyperextensible joints

- Short stature

- Narrow shoulders

- Coarse features in older age

- Hypertelorism

- Epicanthal folds

- Prognathism

- Gynecomastia (rare)

- Muscular hypotonia

- Hypoplastic genitalia

- Cryptorchidism

- Congenital heart defects

- A very round face in infancy

Hand-foot-genital syndrome (HFGS) is characterized by limb malformations and urogenital defects. Mild bilateral shortening of the thumbs and great toes, caused primarily by shortening of the distal phalanx and/or the first metacarpal or metatarsal, is the most common limb malformation and results in impaired dexterity or apposition of the thumbs. Urogenital abnormalities include abnormalities of the ureters and urethra and various degrees of incomplete Müllerian fusion in females and hypospadias of variable severity with or without chordee in males. Vesicoureteral reflux, recurrent urinary tract infections, and chronic pyelonephritis are common; fertility is normal.

Brachydactyly (Greek βραχύς = "short" plus δάκτυλος = "finger"), is a medical term which literally means "shortness of the fingers and toes" (digits). The shortness is relative to the length of other long bones and other parts of the body. Brachydactyly is an inherited, usually dominant trait. It most often occurs as an isolated dysmelia, but can also occur with other anomalies as part of many congenital syndromes.

Nomograms for normal values of finger length as a ratio to other body measurements have been published. In clinical genetics the most commonly used index of digit length is the dimensionless ratio of the length of the 3rd (middle) finger to the hand length. Both are expressed in the same units (centimeters, for example) and are measured in an open hand from the fingertip to the principal creases where the finger joins the palm and where the palm joins the wrist.

The triphalangeal thumb has a different appearance than normal thumbs. The appearance can differ widely; the thumb can be a longer thumb, it can be deviated in the radio-ulnar plane (clinodactyly), thumb strength can be diminished. In the case of a five fingered-hand it has a finger-like appearance, with the position in the plane of the four fingers, thenar muscle deficiency, and additional length. There is often a combination with radial polydactyly.

The most prominent and extensively documented findings of Weismann-Netter-Stuhl syndrome are on plain radiographs of the bones. Findings include bilateral and symmetric anterior bowing of both tibiae and fibulae, lateral bowing of the tibiae, femoral bowing, and squaring of iliac and pelvis bones.

The following is a list of symptoms that have been associated with Roberts syndrome:

- Bilateral Symmetric Tetraphocomelia- a birth defect in which the hands and feet are attached to shortened arms and legs

- Prenatal Growth Retardation

- Hypomelia (Hypoplasia)- the incomplete development of a tissue or organ; less drastic than aplasia, which is no development at all

- Oligodactyly- fewer than normal number of fingers or toes

- Thumb Aplasia- the absence of a thumb

- Syndactyly- condition in which two or more fingers (or toes) are joined together; the joining can involve the bones or just the skin between the fingers

- Clinodactyly- curving of the fifth finger (little finger) towards the fourth finger (ring finger) due to the underdevelopment of the middle bone in the fifth finger

- Elbow/Knee Flexion Contractures- an inability to fully straighten the arm or leg

- Cleft Lip- the presence of one or two vertical fissures in the upper lip; can be on one side (unilateral) or on both sides (bilateral)

- Cleft Palate- opening in the roof of the mouth

- Premaxillary Protrusion- upper part of the mouth sticks out farther than the lower part of the mouth

- Micrognathia- small chin

- Microbrachycephaly- smaller than normal head size

- Malar Hypoplasia- underdevelopment of the cheek bones

- Downslanting Palpebral Fissures- the outer corners of the eyes point downwards

- Ocular Hypertelorism- unusually wide-set eyes

- Exophthalmos- a protruding eyeball

- Corneal Clouding- clouding of the front-most part of the eye

- Hypoplastic Nasal Alae- narrowing of the nostrils that can decrease the width of the nasal base

- Beaked Nose- a nose with a prominent bridge that gives it the appearance of being curved

- Ear Malformations

- Intellectual disability

- Encephalocele (only in severe cases)- rare defect of the neural tube characterized by sac-like protrusions of the brain

Mortality is high among those severely affected by Roberts syndrome; however, mildly affected individuals may survive to adulthood

Weismann-Netter-Stuhl syndrome, also known as Weismann-Netter Syndrome or more technically by the term tibioperoneal diaphyseal toxopachyosteosis, is a rare disorder characterized by bowing of the lower legs and an abnormal thickening of thinner bone in the leg.

The main sign is anterior bowing and posterior cortical thickening of the diaphyses of both the tibiae and fibulae. It is thought to be inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion, and is most often bilateral and symmetric in nature. Associated features include dwarfism and mild intellectual disability, as well as a process known as tibialization of the fibulae, which involves thickening and enlargement of these bones to an extent resembling the tibiae. The combination of the presence of tibialization of the fibulae, which is highly specific for the disorder, and the absence of laboratory abnormalities ruling out alternative diagnoses including rickets, essentially confirms the diagnosis.

Diagnosing the congenital clasped thumb is difficult in the first three to four months of life, as it is normal when the thumb is clutched into the palm in these first months.

Diagnoses that cause the same flexion or adduction abnormalities of the thumb are:

- Congenital clasped thumb

- Congenital Trigger thumb (flexion of the interphalangeal joint) - Trigger finger

- Spasticity: overstimulation of muscles

Syndrome associated flexion-adduction of the thumb:

- Freeman-Sheldon syndrome (a congenital, heritable affection of the face, the hands, the feet and some joints)

- Distal arthrogryposis

- MASA syndrome

- X-linked hydrocephalus

- Adducted thumb syndrome

- Waardenburg syndrome

- Whistling face syndrome (Freeman-Sheldon syndrome)

- Digitotalar dysmorphism

- Multiple pterygium syndrome

Classification is performed by using x-ray imaging to see the bone structures.

Polydactyly or polydactylism (), also known as hyperdactyly, is a congenital physical anomaly in humans, dogs, and cats having supernumerary fingers or toes.

Polydactyly is the opposite of oligodactyly (fewer fingers or toes).

Ectrodactyly, split hand, cleft hand, derived from the Greek "ektroma" (abortion) and "daktylos" (finger) involves the deficiency or absence of one or more central digits of the hand or foot and is also known as split hand/split foot malformation (SHFM). The hands and feet of people with ectrodactyly are often described as "claw-like" and may include only the thumb and one finger (usually either the little finger, ring finger, or a syndactyly of the two) with similar abnormalities of the feet.

It is a rare form of a congenital disorder in which the development of the hand is disturbed. It is a type I failure of formation – longitudinal arrest. The central ray of the hand is affected and usually appears without proximal deficiencies of nerves, vessels, tendons, muscles and bones in contrast to the radial and ulnar deficiencies. The cleft hand appears as a V-shaped cleft situated in the centre of the hand. The digits at the borders of the cleft might be syndactilyzed, and one or more digits can be absent. In most types, the thumb, ring finger and little finger are the less affected parts of the hand. The incidence of cleft hand varies from 1 in 90,000 to 1 in 10,000 births depending on the used classification. Cleft hand can appear unilateral or bilateral, and can appear isolated or associated with a syndrome.

Split hand/foot malformation (SHFM) is characterized by underdeveloped or absent central digital rays, clefts of hands and feet, and variable syndactyly of the remaining digits. SHFM is a heterogeneous condition caused by abnormalities at one of multiple loci, including SHFM1 (SHFM1 at 7q21-q22), SHFM2 (Xq26), SHFM3 (FBXW4/DACTYLIN at 10q24), SHFM4 (TP63 at 3q27), and SHFM5 (DLX1 and DLX 2 at 2q31). SHFM3 is unique in that it is caused by submicroscopic tandem chromosome duplications of FBXW4/DACTYLIN. SHFM3 is considered 'isolated' ectrodactyly and does not show a mutation of the tp63 gene.

The primary characteristics of FTHS are brachycephaly (flat head), wide fontanelle (soft spot on a baby’s head), prominent forehead, hypertelorism (abnormally wide distance between the eyes), prominent eyes, macrocornea (large corneas), optic disc edema, full cheeks, small chin, bowing of the long bones in the arms or legs, and finger deformities. Protruding, simple ears and a prominent coccyx (tailbone) are also regarded as important diagnostic signs of FTHS.

Fibular hemimelia or longitudinal fibular deficiency is "the congenital absence of the fibula and it is the most common congenital absence of long bone of the extremities." It is the shortening of the fibula at birth, or the complete lack thereof. In humans, the disorder can be noted by ultrasound in utero to prepare for amputation after birth or complex bone lengthening surgery. The amputation usually takes place at six months with removal of portions of the legs to prepare them for prosthetic use. The other treatments which include repeated corrective osteotomies and leg-lengthening surgery (Ilizarov apparatus) are costly and associated with residual deformity.

The specific cause of camptodactyly remains unknown, but there are a few deficiencies that lead to the condition. A deficient lumbrical muscle controlling the flexion of the fingers, and abnormalities of the flexor and extensor tendons.

A number of congenital syndromes may also cause camptodactyly:

- Jacobsen syndrome

- Beals Syndrome

- Blau syndrome

- Freeman-Sheldon syndrome

- Cerebrohepatorenal syndrome

- Weaver syndrome

- Christian syndrome 1

- Gordon Syndrome

- Jacobs arthropathy-camptodactyly syndrome

- Lenz microphthalmia syndrome

- Marshall-Smith-Weaver syndrome

- Oculo-dento-digital syndrome

- Tel Hashomer camptodactyly syndrome

- Toriello-Carey syndrome

- Stuve-Wiedemann syndrome

- Loeys-Dietz syndrome

- Fryns syndrome

- Marfan's syndrome

- Carnio-carpo-tarsal dysthropy

Generally, triphalangeal thumbs are non-opposable. In contrast to most people with opposable thumbs, a person suffering from TPT cannot easily place his or her thumb opposite the other four digits of the same hand. The opposable thumb's ability to effortlessly utilize fingers in a "pinch" formation is critical in precision gripping. For the thumb to adequately grip, certain thumb criteria must be met (e.g. suitable position and length, stable joints and good thenar muscle strength). Because triphalangeal thumbs cannot easily oppose and do not possess many of the optimal qualities found in most opposable thumbs, they tend to cause the hand to be less effective in use and, therefore, prove to be more problematic in daily life.

Camptodactyly is a medical condition that causes one or more fingers to be permanently bent. It involves fixed flexion deformity of the proximal interphalangeal joints. The fifth finger is always affected.

Camptodactyly can be caused by a genetic disorder. In that case, it is an autosomal dominant trait that is known for its incomplete genetic expressivity. This means that when a person has the genes for it, the condition may appear in both hands, one, or neither. A linkage scan proposed that the chromosomal locus of camptodactyly was 3q11.2-q13.12.

Syndactyly can be simple or complex.

- In simple syndactyly, adjacent fingers or toes are joined by soft tissue.

- In complex syndactyly, the bones of adjacent digits are fused. The kangaroo exhibits complex syndactyly.

Syndactyly can be complete or incomplete.

- In complete syndactyly, the skin is joined all the way to the tip of the involved digits.

- In incomplete syndactyly, the skin is only joined part of the distance to the tip of the involved digits.

Complex syndactyly occurs as part of a syndrome (such as Apert syndrome) and typically involves more digits than simple syndactyly.

Fenestrated syndactyly means the skin is joined for most of the digit but in a proximal area there is gap in the syndactyly with normal skin. This type of syndactyly is found in amniotic band syndrome.

Simple syndactyly can be full or partial, and is present at birth (congenital). In early human fetal development, webbing (syndactyly) of the toes and fingers is normal. At about 6 weeks of gestation, apoptosis takes place due to a protein named sonic hedgehog, also known as SHH, which dissolves the tissue between the fingers and toes, and the webbing disappears. In some fetuses, this process does not occur completely between all fingers or toes and some residual webbing remains.

In general there are five types of thumb hypoplasia, originally described by Muller in 1937 and improved by Blauth, Buck-Gramcko and Manske.

- Type I: the thumb is small, normal components are present but undersized. Two muscles of the thumb, the abductor pollicis brevis and opponens pollicis, are not fully developed

. This type requires no surgical treatment in most cases.

- Type II is characterized by a tight web space between the thumb and index finger which restricts movement, poor thenar muscles and an unstable middle joint of the thumb metacarpophalangeal joint. This unstable thumb is best treated with reconstruction of the mentioned structures.

- Type III thumbs are subclassified into two subtypes by Manske. Both involve a less developed first metacarpal and a nearly absent thenar musculature. Type III-A has a fairly stable carpometacarpal joint and type III-B does not. The function of the thumb is poor. Children with type III are the most difficult patients to treat because there is not one specific treatment for the hypoplastic thumb. The limit between pollicization and reconstruction varies. Some surgeons have said that type IIIA is amenable to reconstruction and not type IIIB. Others say type IIIA is not suitable for reconstruction too. Based on the diagnosis the doctor has to decide what is needed to be done to obtain a more functional thumb, i.e. reconstruction or pollicization. In this group careful attention should be paid to anomalous tendons coming from the forearm (extrinsic muscles, like an aberrant long thumb flexor – flexor pollicis longus).

- Type IV is called a pouce flottant, floating thumb. This thumb has a neurovascular bundle which connects it to the skin of the hand. There’s no evidence of thenar muscles and rarely functioning tendons. It has a few rudimentary bones. Children with type IV are difficult to reconstruct. This type is nearly always treated with an index finger pollicization to improve hand function.

- Type V is no thumb at all and requires pollicization.

Clinodactyly (from the Ancient Greek κλίνειν ' meaning "to bend" and δάκτυλος ' meaning "digit") is a medical term describing the curvature of a digit (a finger or toe) in the plane of the palm, most commonly the fifth finger (the "little finger") towards the adjacent fourth finger (the "ring finger").

It is a fairly common isolated anomaly which often goes unnoticed, but also occurs in combination with other abnormalities in certain genetic syndromes.

Thumb hypoplasia is a spectrum of congenital abnormalities of the thumb varying from small defects to absolute retardation of the thumb. It can be isolated, when only the thumb is affected, and in 60% of the cases it is associated with radial dysplasia (or radial club, radius dysplasia, longitudinal radial deficiency). Radial dysplasia is the condition in which the forearm bone and the soft tissues on the thumb side are underdeveloped or absent.

In an embryo the upper extremities develop from week four of the gestation. During the fifth to eighth week the thumb will further develop. In this period something goes wrong with the growth of the thumb but the exact cause of thumb hypoplasia is unknown.

One out of every 100,000 live births shows thumb hypoplasia. In more than 50% of the cases both hands are affected, otherwise mainly the right hand is affected.

About 86% of the children with hypoplastic thumb have associated abnormalities. Embryological hand development occurs simultaneously with growth and development of the cardiovascular, neurologic and hematopoietic systems. Thumb hypoplasia has been described in 30 syndromes wherein those abnormalities have been seen. A syndrome is a combination of three or more abnormalities. Examples of syndromes with an hypoplastic thumb are Holt-Oram syndrome, VACTERL association and thrombocytopenia absent radius (TAR syndrome).

Cooks syndrome is a hereditary disorder which is characterized in the hands by bilateral nail hypoplasia on the thumb, index finger, and middle finger, absence of fingernails (anonychia) on the ring finger and little finger, lengthening of the thumbs, and bulbousness of the fingers. In the feet, it is characterized by absence of toenails and absence/hypoplasia of the distal phalanges. In the second study of this disorder, it was found that the intermediate phalanges, proximal phalanges, and metacarpals were unaffected.

The disorder was first described by Cooks "et al." in 1985 after being discovered in two generations of one family. It was proposed that the inheritance of the disorder is autosomal dominant. A second family, this with three affected generations, confirmed that the inheritance of the disorder is autosomal dominant. Although several genetic disorders exist which can cause anonychia and onychodystrophy, such disorders often cause other anomalies such as deafness, mental retardation, and defects of the hair, eyes, and teeth. Cooks syndrome is not known to cause any such anomalies.

In 1999, a pair of siblings was found with brachydactyly type B. Because the disorder primarily affected the nails and distal phalanges, the research group concluded that brachydactyly type B and Cooks syndrome are the same disorder. However, in 2007, a 2-year-old girl was found with symptoms consistent with both brachydactyly type B and Cooks syndrome. It was found that the two syndromes were distinct clinically, radiologically, and genetically.