NUMBER OF PHALANGES ON THE 3RD,4TH AND 5TH TOES IN CHINESE

The number of phalanges on the 3rd,4th and 5th toes of 615 feet was observed. In the 615 feet,toes with two phalanges amounted to 73.34±1.77% on the 5th toe and 13.18±1.36% on the 4th toe.In the 294 feet examined,only 3.43±1.06% show- ed presence of 2-phalanx 3rd toe.Nearly 3/4 of the cases had two phalanges on the 5th toe,so it may be considered that the total number of phalanges of a foot in the Chinese is less than 14. The distribution of toes with two phalanges in the 2 feet of an individual can be grouped into symmetrical and asymmetrical types.The symmetrical type occurs more frequently than the asymmetrical.In case the 3rd or 4th toe has two phalanges,the 5th toe is always to be a 2-phalanx one. No apparent difference in frequency of the occurrence of the 2-phalanx toes was noted in the left or right foot or in the different age groups.The occurrence of toes with two phalanges was oftener in the female than in the male.