Which term is a benign growth of nerve tissue between the metatarsals that can cause tingling and burning?

Which term is a benign growth of nerve tissue between the metatarsals that can cause tingling and burning?

• A. Verruca plantaris
• B. Morton's neuroma
• C. Tendinitis
• D. Ingrown nail

Answer: (B)

The situation describes a benign enlargement of a nerve between the metatarsal heads that leads to sensory symptoms in the forefoot. This is Morton's neuroma. It involves the interdigital plantar digital nerve, most commonly between the third and fourth metatarsal heads, where the nerve becomes irritated and thickened. The hallmark symptoms are tingling, burning, and sometimes numbness in the ball of the foot, often worsened by tight footwear or standing/walking and relieved by removing shoes or using padding. This isn’t a plantar wart, which would be a skin lesion caused by HPV and present as a rough, often non-neural lesion on the sole. It also isn’t tendinitis, which would cause pain with specific tendon movement and often swelling, not numbness or burning in the toes. And it isn’t an ingrown nail, which causes pain at the nail border. Morton's neuroma best fits the description of a benign nerve-tissue growth between the metatarsals producing tingling and burning.

The situation describes a benign enlargement of a nerve between the metatarsal heads that leads to sensory symptoms in the forefoot. This is Morton's neuroma. It involves the interdigital plantar digital nerve, most commonly between the third and fourth metatarsal heads, where the nerve becomes irritated and thickened. The hallmark symptoms are tingling, burning, and sometimes numbness in the ball of the foot, often worsened by tight footwear or standing/walking and relieved by removing shoes or using padding.

This isn’t a plantar wart, which would be a skin lesion caused by HPV and present as a rough, often non-neural lesion on the sole. It also isn’t tendinitis, which would cause pain with specific tendon movement and often swelling, not numbness or burning in the toes. And it isn’t an ingrown nail, which causes pain at the nail border. Morton's neuroma best fits the description of a benign nerve-tissue growth between the metatarsals producing tingling and burning.