Poland syndrome is a birth defect characterized by an underdeveloped chest muscle and short webbed fingers on one side of the body.

[7] The subclavian arteries normally supply blood to embryonic tissues that give rise to the chest wall and hand.

Variations in the site and extent of the disruption may explain the range of signs and symptoms that occur in Poland syndrome.

Abnormality of an embryonic structure called the apical ectodermal ridge, which helps direct early limb development, may also be involved in this disorder.

[citation needed] The Poland syndrome malformations are morphological, so correction by custom implant is the first-line treatment.

[citation needed] The implant replaces the pectoralis major muscle, thus enabling the thorax to be symmetrical and, in women, the breast as well.

He discussed this with his colleague at Guy's Hospital, Dr Philip Evans, who agreed that the syndrome was "not widely appreciated".

Clarkson found a reference to a similar deformity published by Alfred Poland, an English surgeon, over a hundred years earlier in Guy's Hospital reports, in 1841.

[citation needed] Poland had dissected a convict known as George Elt, who was said to be unable to draw his hand across his chest.

Poland noted the chest wall deformity, and this was illustrated in his article; the hand was also dissected and preserved for posterity in Guy's Hospital museum where it remains today.