F like finger

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F as in Fingers

The human hand is different from the hands or paws of other animals, because it has fingers and a thumb that can work together.  The hands of our nearest relatives, the apes, also have thumbs like ours!

Our thumb can work with each of our fingers, including our smallest finger and our ring finger, so we can do much more complicated things than most animals.

Our thumbs help us to pick things up and use tools.

Our hands help us to do so many things like writing, holding, carrying, playing games, using a computer and a million other things.

The inside story on hands

We have four fingers and an opposable thumb.  Each finger has 3 bones and the thumb has two bones.

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The hand is attached to the arm by the wrist.

·         The hand has 27 bones.

·         There are 8 bones in the wrist.

·         There are 5 bones in the palm which link to the digits (fingers and thumb).

·         There are 2 main sets of muscles and tendons.  Flexor muscles bend the fingers and thumb, and extensors straighten them out again.

·         Flexors are fastened to the underside of the forearm

·         Extensors are connected to the top of the forearm.

The little finger, often called the pinky  or small finger in medicine, is the most ulnar and usually smallest finger of the human hand, opposite the thumb and next to the ring finger.

The ring finger is the fourth proximal digit of the human hand and the second most ulnar finger, located between the middle finger and the little finger.  It is also called digitus medicinalis, the fourth finger, digitus annularis, digitus quartus, or digitus IV in anatomy.  It may also be referred to as the third finger.

The middle finger, long finger, or tall finger is the third digit of the human hand, located     between the index finger and the ring finger.  It is usually the longest finger.  It is also called the third finger, digitus medius, digitus tertius, or digitus III in anatomy.

Human hands not only do the tasks we need to do, but they help us to communicate with others.

·         Stroking and patting can show others that we care about them.

·         We use hands to defend ourselves.

·         We can play musical instruments.

·         We can become skilful in crafts and arts.

·         We use our hands in sign language.

·         We can write down our thoughts.

·         We use hands to show other road users where we want to go when we're riding bikes.

·         Some people seem to talk with their hands when they are talking to others.

In the NIMBLE method we emphasize the importance of our fingers and hands and use a variety of small exercises to keep them nimble throughout our life.  Apart from illnesses, there are no reasons why our fingers cannot stay as flexible as the fingers of a young child.