Page 232 - Ultimate Visual Dictionary (DK)

THE HUMAN BODY
X-RAY OF LEFT HAND
Hands OF A YOUNG CHILD

Area of
ossification
THE HUMAN HAND is an extremely versatile in phalanx
tool, capable of delicate manipulation as well as
powerful gripping actions. The arrangement of
its 27 small bones, moved by 37 skeletal muscles
that are connected to the bones by tendons,
allows a wide range of movements. Our ability
to bring the tips of our thumbs and fingers
together, combined with the extraordinary sensitivity
Area of
of our fingertips due to their rich supply of nerve ossification
endings, makes our hands uniquely dextrous. in metacarpal

Ring Middle Index Area of
finger finger finger ossification
BONES in wrist
OF HAND Epiphysis
Epiphysis
of radius
Little of ulna
finger
Distal Areas of cartilage in the wrist and at the
phalanx ends of the finger bones are the sites of
growth and have still to ossify.

Middle
phalanx

Proximal
phalanx
Distal phalanx
Head of thumb
2nd
metacarpal
3rd
metacarpal Shaft Proximal phalanx
of thumb
4th
metacarpal
Base
5th
metacarpal
1st metacarpal
Hamate
Pisiform
Trapezium
Trapezoid
Capitate
Scaphoid
Triquetral
Lunate
Ulna Radius

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