WORLD HISTORY AND FACTS

Mirror hand syndrome is an extremely rare syndrome that has only been diagnosed 100 times worldwide. It is also called Ulnar Dimelia. It does not simply mean that you have a few too many fingers, because that happens quite often. Affected people have a second hand on their wrist that mirrors the movements of the first hand. The disease does not seem to be hereditary and could be caused by a genetic mutation. Unfortunately, this is only a hypothesis, as no one knows exactly what causes the rare hand disease. The hands often join at the palm and are generally symmetrical. The affected person's hand looks like it is doubled, and there may be a cleft in the palm where the hands come together. The extra fingers are connected to extra bones that run along the wearer's wrist and sometimes extend to the elbow. The condition was first described in 1587, but since that discovery, only 72 cases have been documented in the medical literature, and some cases