Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 20, Issue 6 693-697, Copyright © 2001 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis of Sprengel's deformity
D. H. Chinn
Department of Radiology, Hoag Hospital, Newport Beach, California 92658, USA.
Sprengel's deformity is the congenital failure of descent of the scapula.
Eulenburg first described this in 1863. Sprengel described 4 cases in 1891;
hence, the anomaly has been called Sprengel's deformity. Other terms for
this entity are Sprengel's anomaly, Sprengel's shoulder, congenital high
scapula, and undescended scapula. In this entity, varying degrees of
scapula elevation and scapula hypoplasia occur. In approximately one third
of cases, Sprengel's deformity is accompanied by an accessory ossicle, the
omovertebral bone, which articulates between the medial border of the
scapula and 1 or more of the cervical vertebrae. In the absence of an
omovertebral bone, a fibrous fascial sheath extends from the superior angle
of the scapula to the spinous process, the lamina, or the transverse
process of 1 or more lower cervical vertebrae. This fixation accounts for
the medial position and elevation of the scapula. I report a case of
prenatal ultrasonographic detection of Sprengel's deformity.
