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Q: What is clubbing? What are its causes?
A: Clubbing is said to be present when the thickness of any given finger at the base of the nail, measured from front to back, is larger than the thickness of the joint nearest it in the particular finger being considered. In the presence of clubbing, the nail plate appears rounded and there is flattening of the normal angle between the nail and the cuticle. Clubbing may occur in many conditions. For example, it may occur in lung cancer, lung abscess, lung fibrosis, and other pulmonary conditions leading to a decresed oxygen tension in the arterial blood. Furthermore, it may also occur in other conditions not associated with lung disease, but which also lead to a decrease of the oxygen tension in the blood. Examples include heart deffects occurring at birth, liver cirrhosis, inflammatory bowel disease, heart failure, infective endocarditis (an inflammation of the inner tissue lining in the heart). Finally, it may also occur since birth without any apparent cause.
Updated: 08/30/99
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