Acromicria

Acromicria (from Greek akros- upper, extreme and mikros- small), a term used to denote the reduction in size of the peripheral parts of the limbs [opposite of acromegaly (see)]. The nature of the changes called acromicria may be different. Some authors designate A. as the unknown shortening of limbs (from the knees and elbows), sometimes occurring in certain mental diseases (schizophrenia); others, for example Stembo, propose it only to denote the shortening of hands and feet in scleroderma (see); in such cases, acromicria should be considered as an initial symptom in scleroderma (sclerodactyly), caused by the disorder of bones in which atrophic processes develop, gradually leading to the complete resorption of phalangeal bones without the formation of ulcers.