Tuberculous dactylitis or 'spina ventosa' (meaning short or small bone inflated with air), is a form of tuberculous osteomyelitis that affects the small tubular bones in the hand and feet, the metacarpals, metatarsals and the phalanges. It is most commonly associated with tuberculosis in children and is considered rare in anyone over the age of six. Dactylitis affects the hands more often than the feet and can affect multiple bones at one time. Typical manifestations include the index/middle fingers and the middle/ring fingers.

It is caused by the haematogenous spread of tubercular bacteria which settles in the bone marrow of the short bones prior to the epiphyseal centre becoming established. Once established, the tuberculous infection quickly involves the entire marrow space and the tuberculous granulation tissue expands the bone cortex following necrosis of the bone tissue. As a result the bone expands appearing much like an inflated balloon. Radiographic images may reveal lytic lesions within the affect bone and periosteal new formation. Physically dactylitis can be observed as swelling to the soft tissue surrounding the affected area and often through the presence of scrofuloderma, an extension of the tuberculous infection to the overlying skin causing sinus formation which may discharge pus.

Treatment for this form of tuberculous infection in Stannington was limited beyond general sanatorium treatments. Heliotherapy and phototherapy may have been employed to treat the overlying skin infections associated with dactylitis but there were no surgical interventions and prior to anti-tubercular drugs little could be done. However, despite a lack of treatment tuberculous-dactylitis can heal in due course with minimal long-term effects, new bone formation may be observable radiographically around the affected bone but soft tissue swelling abates and deformity is rare.

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