Ask Me Everything6

Tell me morę: hand anatomy

Capitate

Trapezoid

Metacarpals

Metacarpophalangeal

joint

H	c	*	Ul	Z	O	o	■o
<5‘ aj	w <0	3 H>	c T (O	O a	o 3 U)	■o <T>	57 *<
u> u o	AJ O 0 1	AJ TJ 3.	(D -3	Al U! O SL	o o	AJ (A A)	s^- n <
T w TT	■o c o	o Ul		■o 2.		(O AJ 3	o 3’
3	t	o				(D
O rt-	3	o TT		o ■ł		Ul
	o	Ul

i—■

2

(D

Interphalangeal joint

Adductor pollicis pulls thumb inwards towards fingers

Phalanxes

Tendon of flexor digitorum superficialis, which bends finger.

Flexor pollicis brevis bends thumb

Tendon of flexor carpi radialis, which bends wrist.

Tendon of flexor carpi uinaris, which bends wrist.

Name that digit

OLittle Th8 smallest of the fingers, in India and Indonesia, a gesture with the pinky indicates that the person needs to urinate.

©Ring As well as being the fingerthat significant rings are worn on, rt was believed by many ancient cultures to be magical and too powerful to name.

©Middle Used in some cultures to make a rude gesture, the middle finger is usually the longest.

Olndex Used to point, waggle in disapproval, attract attention, and push buttons.

O Thumb Allows hand to clench into a fist. Often sucked on by babies!

In July 1977, the mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey, shook morę than 11,000 hands in a single day. This broke the record set in 1907 by US President Theodore Roosevelt, who

shook 8,513 hands ata White House reception.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

People who have an unusual number of fingers or toes are said to have a condition called polydactyly a Greek word meaning many fingers.

Opposable

thumbs

01: Humans (and other

primates) have opposable thumbs that can be moved into a position opposite their other four digits.

02: Opposable thumbs allow precise movements, such as grasping hołd of smali objects.

03: Thumb movements are controlled by eight muscles, which all have the Latin word for thumb ("pollicis”) in the name.

Pisform

Triquetral

Ulna

Lunate

Scaphoid Radius

Trapezium

Handy cultural tips

“Thumbs up” is an ^ almost universal sign to say that everything is okay.

In many Western countries, shaking hands is a standard greeting in business situations.

Catholics who meet the Pope or a Cardinal are expected to kiss the ring on his right hand.

In India and many Arabie countries, it is impolite to eat with your left hand, as this hand is used for cleaning yourself after going to the bathroom, so should never touch food.