Phalanx bone

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"Phalange" redirects here. For other uses, see Phalanx (disambiguation).
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Phalanx bone

Illustration of the phalanges

Bones of foot

Details

Articulation Metacarpophalangeal, metatarsophalangeal, interphalan
 s geal

Identifiers

Latin phalanx

pl. phalanges

TA98 A02.4.10.001

A02.5.18.001

TA2 1272, 1505

Anatomical terms of bone

[edit on Wikidata]

The phalanges /fəˈlændʒiːz/ (singular: phalanx /ˈfælæŋks/) are digital bones in
the hands and feet of most vertebrates. In primates, the thumbs and big toes have two
phalanges while the other digits have three phalanges. The phalanges are classed
as long bones.

Contents

 1Structure
o 1.1Bone anatomy
 1.1.1Distal phalanx
o 1.2Development
 2Function
 3History of phalanges
o 3.1Etymology
o 3.2In animals
 3.2.1Primates
 3.2.2Other mammals
 4Additional images
 5See also
 6References
 7External links

Structure[edit]
The phalanges in a human hand

The phalanges are the bones that make up the fingers of the hand and the toes of the
foot. There are 56 phalanges in the human body, with fourteen on each hand and foot.
Three phalanges are present on each finger and toe, with the exception of
the thumb and large toe, which possess only two. The middle and far phalanges of the
fourth and fifth toes are often fused together (symphalangism). [1] The phalanges of
the hand are commonly known as the finger bones. The phalanges of the foot differ
from the hand in that they are often shorter and more compressed, especially in the
proximal phalanges, those closest to the torso.
A phalanx is named according to whether it is proximal, middle, or distal and its
associated finger or toe. The proximal phalanges are those that are closest to the hand
or foot. In the hand, the prominent, knobby ends of the phalanges are known
as knuckles. The proximal phalanges join with the metacarpals of the hand
or metatarsals of the foot at the metacarpophalangeal joint or metatarsophalangeal
joint. The intermediate phalanx is not only intermediate in location, but usually also in
size. The thumb and large toe do not possess a middle phalanx. The distal phalanges
are the bones at the tips of the fingers or toes. The proximal, intermediate, and distal
phalanges articulate with one another through interphalangeal articulations.[2]:708–711:708–711
Bone anatomy[edit]
Each phalanx consists of a central part, called the body, and two extremities.

 The body is flat on either side, concave on the palmar surface, and convex on
the dorsal surface. Its sides are marked with rough areas giving attachment to
fibrous sheaths of flexor tendons. It tapers from above downwards.
 The proximal extremities of the bones of the first row present oval, concave
articular surfaces, broader from side to side than from front to back. The proximal
extremity of each of the bones of the second and third rows presents a double
concavity separated by a median ridge.
 The distal extremities are smaller than the proximal, and each ends in
two condyles (knuckles) separated by a shallow groove; the articular surface
extends farther on the palmar than on the dorsal surface, a condition best marked in
the bones of the first row.
In the foot, the proximal phalanges have a body that is compressed from side to side,
convex above, and concave below. The base is concave, and the head presents a
trochlear surface for articulation with the second phalanx. The middle are remarkably
small and short, but rather broader than the proximal. The distal phalanges, as
compared with the distal phalanges of the finger, are smaller and are flattened from
above downward; each presents a broad base for articulation with the corresponding
bone of the second row, and an expanded distal extremity for the support of the nail and
end of the toe.
Distal phalanx[edit]
In the hand, the distal phalanges are flat on their palmar surface, small, and with a
roughened, elevated surface of horseshoe form on the palmar surface, supporting the
finger pulp.[3]:6b. 3. The Phalanges of the Hand The flat, wide expansions found at the tips of the distal
phalanges are called apical tufts. They support the fingertip pads and nails. [4] The
phalanx of the thumb has a pronounced insertion for the flexor pollicis
longus (asymmetric towards the radial side), an ungual fossa, and a pair of unequal
ungual spines (the ulnar being more prominent). This asymmetry is necessary to ensure
that the thumb pulp is always facing the pulps of the other digits, an osteological
configuration which provides the maximum contact surface with held objects. [5]
In the foot, the distal phalanges are flat on their dorsal surface. It is largest proximally
and tapers to the distal end. The proximal part of the phalnx presents a broad base for
articulation with the middle phalanx, and an expanded distal extremity for the support of
the nail and end of the toe.[3]:6b. 3. The Phalanges of the Foot The phalanx ends in a crescent-shaped rough
cap of bone epiphysis — the apical tuft (or ungual tuberosity/process) which covers a
larger portion of the phalanx on the volar side than on the dorsal side. Two lateral
ungual spines project proximally from the apical tuft. Near the base of the shaft are two
lateral tubercles. Between these a V-shaped ridge extending proximally serves for the
insertion of the flexor pollicis longus. Another ridge at the base serves for the insertion
of the extensor aponeurosis.[6] The flexor insertion is sided by two fossae — the ungual
fossa distally and the proximopalmar fossa proximally.
Development[edit]
The number of phalanges in animals is often expressed as a "phalangeal formula" that
indicates the numbers of phalanges in digits, beginning from the innermost medial or
proximal. For example, humans have a 2-3-3-3-3 formula for the hand, meaning that the
thumb has two phalanges, whilst the other fingers each have three.
In the distal phalanges of the hand the centres for the bodies appear at the distal
extremities of the phalanges, instead of at the middle of the bodies, as in the other
phalanges. Moreover, of all the bones of the hand, the distal phalanges are the first to
ossify.[3]:6b. 3. The Phalanges of the Hand

Function[edit]
This section needs expansion. You
can help by adding to it. (January
 2014)

Thumb and index finger of right hand during pad-to-pad precision grasping in ulnar view. [5]

The distal phalanges of ungulates carry and shape nails and claws and these in

primates are referred to as the ungual phalanges.

History of phalanges[edit]
Etymology[edit]
The term phalanx or phalanges refers to an ancient Greek army formation in which
soldiers stand side by side, several rows deep, like an arrangement of fingers or toes.
In animals[edit]
Most land mammals including humans have a 2-3-3-3-3 formula in both
the hands (or paws) and feet. Primitive reptiles usually had the formula 2-3-4-4-5, and
this pattern, with some modification, remained in many later reptiles and in the mammal-
like reptiles. The phalangeal formula in the flippers of cetaceans (marine mammals)
varies widely due to hyperphalangy (the increase in number of phalanx bones in the
digits). In humpback whales, for example, the phalangeal formula is 0/2/7/7/3; in pilot
whales the formula is 1/10/7/2/1.[7]
In vertebrates, proximal phalanges have a similar placement in the corresponding limbs,
be they paw, wing or fin. In many species, they are the longest and thickest phalanx
("finger" bone). The middle phalanx also a corresponding place in their limbs, whether
they be paw, wing, hoof or fin.
The distal phalanges are cone-shaped in most mammals, including most primates, but
relatively wide and flat in humans.
Primates[edit]
Morphological comparisons of pollical distal phalanges in African apes, extant humans and selected hominins.
Note that, although with several morphological differences, all the features related to refined manipulation in
modern humans are already present in the late Miocene Orrorin.[5]

The morphology of the distal phalanges of human thumbs closely reflects an adaptation
for a refined precision grip with pad-to-pad contact. This has traditionally been
associated with the advent of stone tool-making. However, the intrinsic hand proportions
of australopiths and the resemblance between human hands and the short hands
of Miocene apes, suggest that human hand proportions are largely plesiomorphic (as
found in ancestral species) — in contrast to the derived elongated hand pattern and
poorly developed thumb musculature of other extant hominoids.[5]
In Neanderthals, the apical tufts were expanded and more robust than in modern and
early upper Paleolithic humans. A proposal that Neanderthal distal phalanges was an
adaptation to colder climate (than in Africa) is not supported by a recent comparison
showing that in hominins, cold-adapted populations possessed smaller apical tufts than
do warm-adapted populations. [8]
In non-human, living primates the apical tufts vary in size, but they are never larger than
in humans. Enlarged apical tufts, to the extent they actually reflect expanded digital
pulps, may have played a significant role in enhancing friction between the hand and
held objects during Neolithic toolmaking.[4]
Among non-human primates phylogenesis and style of locomotion appear to play a role
in apical tuft size. Suspensory primates and New World monkeys have the smallest
apical tufts, while terrestrial quadrupeds and Strepsirrhines have the largest.[8] A study of
the fingertip morphology of four small-bodied New World monkey species, indicated a
correlation between increasing small-branch foraging and reduced flexor and extensor
tubercles in distal phalanges and broadened distal parts of distal phalanges, coupled
with expanded apical pads and developed epidermal ridges. This suggests that widened
distal phalanges were developed in arboreal primates, rather than in quadrupedal
terrestrial primates.[9]
Other mammals[edit]
Skeleton of orangutan, dog, swine, cattle, tapir, and horse

In ungulates (hoofed mammals) the forelimb is optimized for speed and endurance by a

combination of length of stride and rapid step; the proximal forelimb segments are short
with large muscles, while the distal segments are elongated with less musculature. In
two of the major groups of ungulates, odd-toed and even-toed ungulates, what remain
of the "hands" — the metacarpal and phalangeal bones — are elongated to the extent
that they serve little use beyond locomotion. The giraffe, the largest even-toed ungulate,
has large terminal phalanges and fused metacarpal bones able to absorb the stress
from running.[10]
The sloth spends its life hanging upside-down from branches, and has highly
specialized third and fourth digits for the purpose. They have short and squat proximal
phalanges with much longer terminal phalanges. They have vestigial second and fifth
metacarpals, and their palm extends to the distal interphalangeal joints. The arboreal
specialization of these terminal phalanges makes it impossible for the sloth to walk on
the ground where the animal has to drag its body with its claws. [10]