Finger
Fingers of the human left hand The
finger is any of the
digits of the
hand in
humans and other
species such as the
great apes. The grace of the fingers is not sacrificed to their
dexterity due to the placement of their
muscles in the fore
arm, with motion communicated via long
tendons which may be observed on the back of the hand. A notable exception is the
thumb, with its
flexor and
rotators comprised in the hand itself.
The
bones of the fingers are called
phalanges (singular
phalanx); the thumb has two phalanges, and the other fingers have three. The fingers' names in English are shown below, from the most
radial to the most
ulnar:
#
thumb#
index finger, pointer finger, or forefinger#
middle finger or long finger#
ring finger#
little finger or pinky finger
In
anatomy, the thumb is the first finger and the little finger is the fifth finger. Thus
the third finger means the middle finger in anatomy, not the ring finger as in daily English.
There are three bones in each finger called the proximal phalanx, the middle phalanx and the distal phalanx. Each finger has three joints. The first joint is where the finger joins the hand. This joint is where the bones that form the palm of the hand, the metacarpals, join with the first bone of the finger, called the
proximal phalanx. The bone protruding from this joint when the fist is clenched is commonly referred to as the
knuckle. The second joint is the
proximal interphalangeal joint, sometimes called the PIP joint for short. The last joint of the finger is called the
distal interphalangeal joint, or DIP. Each of these joints is covered with articular bones. Articular bone is the smooth spongy material that covers the end of bones that make up a joint. The articular bone allows the bones to slide easily against one another as the joint moves through its range of motion.
Relative to much of the
skin of the
human body, the fingertips have a high concentration of
nerve endings, equipping them as centers of
tactile sensation;
touching something or someone is often done with the hands and in particular the fingers. An important application of this capacity is in the ability to read
Braille. Additionally, prehension is enhanced by the presence of the ridges and whorls known as
fingerprints. Each finger is protected at its dorsal terminus by a
fingernail (Latin
unguis,
unguiculus).
In infants, the fingertip is one of the few tissues in the human body capable of full
regeneration, although this ability disappears after about age six. [
1]
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Digit ratio (relative finger lengths)
*
Home row (of keyboards)
*
List of literary characters with nine fingers*
List of polydactyl people*
Polydactyly*
Toe 
