Fingers of the hand

The human hand consists of five fingers, the anatomy names them first, second, third, fourth and fifth finger, considering that the person has the palm of the hand facing forward, the first finger being the one furthest from the body and the fifth finger the one closest to the body. this.

This nomenclature is used only for academic purposes of the study of the medicine, since these fingers have received proper names with which they are popularly known, these are thumb, index, middle or heart, ring and pinky, in the same order.

Thumb

It is the first finger of the hand, it is located on its external side when the hands are placed with the palms facing forward.

An important evolutionary difference of our spice is the ability to carry out the movement called thumb opposition, consisting of the ability to place the thumb in front of the palm of the hand, which allows to carry out the pincer movement that gives the hand its character from tool, also facilitating the grip as well as the execution of fine movements.

Unlike the other fingers, this one is made up of only two bones called phalanges. The name of this finger derives from the Latin pollicaris, which in turn derives from polleo which means power and force, since this is the strongest finger of the hand, also allowing it to carry out most of its movements.

Index finger

It corresponds to the second finger, located next to the thumb. The word index derives from the Latin index, which means indicator. This finger gets its name from one of the main functions it performs, such as pointing or indicating.

Middle finger

The third finger is known as the middle finger because of its location in the center between the other fingers. It is also known as the cordial or heart finger, since it was considered that, like that important organ, it is located in a central position.

Ring finger

The word ring refers to the ring, which is usually placed on the fourth finger of the hand. This finger symbolizes the union and the couple, so it is there where the ring of marriage known in some cultures as an alliance.

A curious fact is that when placing the hands in front of each other, supporting the fingertips with each other, while keeping the flexed middle finger supported with that of the other hand at the level of the middle phalanx, it is possible to separate the thumbs, index fingers and little fingers, while it is not possible to separate the fingers annular.

Pinkie

The little finger is the fifth finger of the hand, the word little finger is a word that derives from the Portuguese menino, which means little. This finger has also been called the ear, because of the habit to use it when trying to manipulate the ear canal.

Photos: Fotolia - Denix / Sebastian Kaulitzki

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