Pathogenesis of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy.

The systematic study of patients with cyanotic heart diseases has led to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA). Current evidence suggests that in cases of right-to-left shunts of blood, HOA develops as a result of faulty pulmonary clearance of macrothrombocytes. There are theoretical grounds to suggest that a platelet-derived growth factor is also responsible for the acropachy associated with other types of internal illnesses.