Syndactyly is the medical definition for having webbed fingers or toes (digits). It’s one of the most common birth defects that affects babies’ hands and feet. Webbed fingers and toes (syndactyly) is when two or more fingers or toes are fused together with skin.

Understanding the Context

Learn about causes and treatment for children. Syndactyly (pronounced sin-) is a type of congenital limb difference that is present at birth. At least two toes or fingers (digits) don’t separate as they should while a baby forms in the womb. The digits fuse together, creating a webbed appearance.

Key Insights

Syndactyly is the medical term for webbed or conjoined fingers or toes. In most cases the fingers are connected only by skin. It is rare that the bones are also fused together. The spaces between two or more fingers may be webbed, and may be connected all the way to the fingertips (complete syndactyly) or only part of the way up the fingers (incomplete syndactyly). From left to right: Webbed skin between fingers or toes is a common feature of syndactyly.

Final Thoughts

Fingers or toes may be joined all the way from the base to the tip or only partway up. What it is Syndactyly means two fingers that did not separate completely during development before birth. Early in pregnancy, the hand starts as a paddle-like structure. As the hand develops, the fingers normally separate from one another. That typically happens by approximately 8 weeks of gestation (really early!) In early human fetal development, webbing (syndactyly) of the toes and fingers is normal. At about 6 weeks of gestation, apoptosis takes place due to a protein named sonic hedgehog, also known as SHH, which dissolves the tissue between the fingers and toes, and the webbing disappears.