Bacterial colonization of mutilating hand injuries and its treatment.

A total of 120 hand injuries were reviewed. Sixty-seven occurred between 1965 and 1972 and were analyzed retrospectively, and 53 occurred between 1972 and 1974 and were analyzed prospectively. The bacterial colonization was determined in 86 injuries.

Biomechanical analysis of static forces in the thumb during hand function.

Using a three-dimensional analysis, the internal forces in the joints and soft tissues of the thumb during pinch and grasp were calculated. To do this, mechanical equivalents were ascribed to the anatomical system, the joint orientation and tendon locations were determined from biplanar roentgenograms of five marked normal cadaver specimens, and the magnitudes of forces in the tendons, intrinsic muscles, joint contact surfaces, and constraining ligaments were calculated based on assumed loads applied to the tip of the thumb in various types of pinch and grasp. These results are the direct extension of a two-dimensional analysis that proved inadequate for the determination of static tendon and joint forces.