Hand Bones - Top View
Humans have two hands. The human or primate hand is different from the paws, claws, and talons or other animals. The hand has opposable thumbs which are specifically designed for grasping objects. Your hands provide for both gross motor skills (grasping a large object) and fine motor skills (picking up a small pebble).
Each hand has five fingers or digits.
These are the thumb, index or pointer finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger or pinky.
Each hand has 27 bones including the wrist. There are 14 bones in the fingers: 2 in the thumb and 3 in each of the other four fingers. These bones are called phalanges. There are 5 bones in the palm or metacarpus. These bones are called metacarpals. The hand is attached to the forearm by a joint called the wrist or carpus. There are 8 bones in the wrist. These bones are called carpals.
The hands provide excellent tactile feedback, allowing you to sense and manipulate your environment. The fingertips are very dense with nerve endings. This makes your fingertips extremely sensitive to temperature, pressure, vibration, texture, and moisture. |
