Flexor tendon gliding in the hand. Part I. In vivo excursions.

The amplitude of gliding of the flexor tendons was measured in 36 hands tagged intraoperatively with buried wire sutures. Finger and wrist position was correlated with tendon excursion as measured on radiographs in the postoperative period. With the wrist in the neutral position, the superficialis tendon achieved an excursion of 24 mm and the profundus tendon 32 mm. Excursion of the flexor pollicis longus tendon was 27 mm. With wrist range of motion, the amplitude of the superficialis tendon became 49 mm, the profundus tendon 50 mm, and the flexor pollicis longus tendon 35 mm.