Editing Varus deformity

{{short description|Deformity in which the bone near a joint is angled inward}}
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| caption         = [[Cubitus varus]] and [[cubitus valgus]].
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A '''varus deformity''' is an excessive inward angulation ([[anatomical terms of location#Medial and lateral|medial]] angulation, that is, towards the body's midline) of the [[anatomical terms of location#Proximal and distal|distal]] segment of a bone or joint.  The opposite of varus is called [[valgus deformity|valgus]].

The terms varus and valgus always refer to the direction that the [[Anatomical terms of location#Proximal and distal|distal]] segment of the joint points.

For example, in a [[valgus deformity]] of the knee, the distal part of the leg below the knee is deviated ''outward, in relation to the femur,'' resulting in a ''[[knock-kneed]]'' appearance.  Conversely, a ''varus'' deformity at the knee results in a ''[[bowlegged]]''  with the distal part of the leg deviated ''inward, in relation to the femur''.  However, in relation to the mid-line of the body, the knee joint is deviated towards the mid-line.

==Terminology==
The terminology is made confusing by the etymology of these words. 
* The terms ''varus'' and ''valgus'' are both Latin, but confusingly, their Latin meanings conflict with their current usage. In current usage, as noted above, a varus deformity of the knee describes bowed legs, but in the original Latin, ''varus'' meant "knock-kneed."<ref>{{cite web|title=varus. Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DV%3Aentry+group%3D4%3Aentry%3Dvarus1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ds4NAAAAIAAJ|title=Harvard University Dept. of the Classics: ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Volume 8'', page 109. Ginn & Company, 1897|year=1897}}</ref> Similarly, while a valgus deformity of the knee would currently describe knocked knees, the original Latin meaning was "bow-legged"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dvalgus |title=valgus. Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ds4NAAAAIAAJ |title=Harvard University Dept. of the Classics: ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Volume 8'', page 109. Ginn & Company, 1897|year=1897}}</ref>
* Application of these words in adjectival form to other portions of the body by the medical community has resulted in their definitions changing so that they now refer to the angle of the distal segment (i.e. valgus impaction in a Garden I femoral neck fracture).
* It is correct for a knock-kneed deformity to be called both a ''varus'' deformity at the hip (''coxa vara'') and a ''valgus'' deformity at the knee (''genu valgum''); although the common terminology is to simply refer to it as a ''valgus'' knee.

When the terminology refers to a bone rather than a joint, the distal segment of the bone is being described.  Thus, a varus deformity of the tibia (i.e. a mid-shaft tibial fracture with varus deformity) refers to the distal segment in a varus alignment compared to the proximal segment.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

==Examples==
* '''Hip:''' ''[[coxa vara]]'' —  the angle between the head and the shaft of the femur is reduced, resulting in a limp.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1259556-overview |title=Congenital Coxa Vera: eMedicine Orthopedic Surgery|date=2019-05-29}}</ref>
* '''Knee:''' ''[[genu varum]]'' (from Latin ''genu'' = knee) — the tibia is turned inward in relation to the femur, resulting in a bowlegged deformity.
* '''Ankle:''' ''talipes varus'' (from Latin ''talus'' = ankle and ''pes'' = foot). A notable subtype is [[clubfoot]] or ''[[talipes equinovarus]]'', which is where one or both feet are [[supinated|rotated inwards]] and [[plantar flexion|downwards]].<ref name=Gib2013>{{cite journal|last1=Gibbons|first1=PJ|last2=Gray|first2=K|title=Update on clubfoot.|journal=Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health|date=September 2013|volume=49|issue=9|pages=E434–7|doi=10.1111/jpc.12167|pmid=23586398|s2cid=6185031}}</ref><ref name=NIH2017>{{cite web|title=Talipes equinovarus|url=https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/5112/talipes-equinovarus|website=Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD)|access-date=15 October 2017|language=en|date=2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015145904/https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/5112/talipes-equinovarus|archive-date=15 October 2017}}</ref>
* '''Toe:''' ''[[hallux varus]]'' (Latin ''hallux'' = big toe) — inward deviation of the big toe away from the second toe.
* '''Elbows:''' ''[[cubitus varus]]'' (Latin ''cubitus'' = elbow) — turned inward elbows

==See also==
* [[Valgus deformity]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
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{{Commons category}}
* Canale & Beaty: Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics, 11th ed. - 2007 - Mosby, An Imprint of Elsevier

{{Acquired deformities}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varus Deformity}}
[[Category:Skeletal disorders]]
[[Category:Medical signs]]
[[Category:Arthropathies]]