Running (cursorial) vertebrates are characterized by elongated lower legs and feet and by reduction and fusion of toes.
Foot response was judged using a 0 3 scale: 0 0.1=no apparent difference from normal, 0.3=slight oedema, 0.5=moderate oedema, 0.75=large oedema, 1.0=large erythema with exudate, 1.2=moderate oedema with slightly crusty appearance, 1.5=definite erythema, 1.65=slightly damaged and/or slight fusion of toes; 2.0=most toes are fused but no change in general shape.
In severe generalized RDEB, perpetual cycles of wounding and scarring lead to fibrotic webbing and, ultimately, fusion of fingers and toes (mitten deformities), joint contractures, generalized soft tissue fibrosis and functional failure of multiple organs (Varki et al, 2007).
Among those, TS is a multiorgan disease; the patients may suffer from syndactyly (fusion of fingers and/or toes), immune deficiency, intermittent hypoglycemia, cognitive abnormalities and autism [26,27] in addition to cardiac arrhythmias that are often associated with sudden death.
From their sister group, the oromerycids like Protylopus, to the earliest camelids like Poebrotherium, to the larger more advanced camels like Procamelus, we can document a striking change in size, crown height of the teeth, reduction in side toes, and eventually fusion of the metacarpals and metatarsals into a cannon bone.
Of great importance are certain features of the skull (such as jaw articulation), feet (number of toes, lack of opposability of the hind toe, type of claws, and fusion of certain bones), and teeth (both the overall tooth pattern and the shape of individual teeth).
None of the footprints have marks of toes.
Amputations of toes (84.11) were not included.
In general, the severity of the fusion negatively correlates with the integrity of the feet, with the most severe cases typically presenting with fewer or even an absence of toes (Fig. 2).
They include loss of normal spread between toes (e.g., 1 5 and 2 4 toes), loss of ventroflexion of toes, and consequent increase of length print [ 65].
Where: N = normal; E = Experimental; PL = print length; TS = spread of toes; IT = intermediate toes [ 30, 31].
