Anatom3DTendon sheath of flexor pollicis longus
Vagina tendinis musculi flexoris pollicis longi · Pochva šlachy dlouhého ohýbače palce
Joints & cartilage
Looks like
A long sleeve (radial bursa) around the thumb's flexor tendon, from above the wrist through the carpal tunnel to the thumb tip.
What it does
Lets the thumb's long bending tendon glide.
Keeping it well
Infection here can spread to the ulnar bursa (horseshoe abscess), a surgical emergency. Trigger thumb also arises here.
Related conditions
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- De Quervain's tenosynovitis
- Dupuytren's contracture & trigger finger
- Ganglion cyst
- Gout
- Haemophilia & bleeding disorders
- Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- Lyme disease
- Marfan syndrome & connective tissue disorders
- Osteoarthritis
- Pseudogout (calcium pyrophosphate disease)
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Raynaud's phenomenon
- Repetitive strain & overuse injury
- Rheumatic fever & rheumatic heart disease
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Temporomandibular joint disorder