Dorothy FarrarHands
The human grasping organs are called hands . They enable a variety of activities.
Definition
The hands are the human grasping organs, made up of muscles , soft tissues and bones . Every healthy person has two hands, located on each side of the body at the bottom of the arm . The hands, in turn, are each equipped with five fingers , which enable people to grip in certain ways.
The hands are indispensable for humans. They enable him to feel, to touch, to write, to do handicrafts, to crush things and to carry out countless works. Injuries or illnesses to the hands often make themselves felt in an unpleasant way.
Anatomy
A human hand is composed of a total of 27 individual bones. The carpus alone consists of the navicular bone, a carpal bone, the lunate bone and the head bone. Other hand bones are the small polygonal bone, the large polygonal bone, the hook, the triangular bone and the lunate bone.
There is an articulated connection between these individual bones, which lie in two rows to one another. Together they form the distal wrist. In addition, there is the proximal wrist, which is important for the functional use of the hand.
Adjacent to the wrist is the metacarpal. This is made up of the five metacarpal bones. The five fingers, which also include the thumb, are also extremely important for the hand. While the thumb is made up of two bones, each finger is made up of three bones. They consist of a total of 14 bones.
The muscles of the hands play an important role in the freedom of movement of the hand. There are 33 hand muscles in total. However, most of them are found in the forearm, so only the tendons are sent out to the hands. The hypothenar muscles are on the little finger side and the thenar muscles are on the thumb side. Other muscles are positioned between the metacarpal bones.
The hand also has three nerves . These are the radial nerve, the median nerve and the ulnar nerve. They enable the blood supply to the hands and are part of the carpal tunnel. In addition, arteries and skin also form part of the hands.
Function
The most important function of the hands is their gripping function. For example, people can use them to grip powerfully in order to lift heavy objects, or to carry out fine and precise gripping movements. This is necessary for operating sensitive objects or for gripping small utensils.
The entire palm of the hand is required to enable a strong grip. This includes the thumb and fingers. With their help, larger objects can be lifted, guided and held. A force of a few hundred Newtons is exerted.
The tips of the index finger and thumb are used for the precision grip. Sometimes the middle fingertip complements the other two fingertips. The size of the object to be moved determines which grip is used. In addition to the tweezer handle, there is also the key handle, the three-point handle and the pliers handle.
Another ability of the hand is the formation of a fist. The fist can be used for fighting or boxing. In principle, however, this function is rarely exercised nowadays. Another function of the hand is to bend it, for example to scoop water or carry out similar work.
But the hands are also suitable for communication, which includes sign language. Hands and fingers can be used to perform gestures or signals. In modern times, fingers are also extremely important in order to be able to operate computer keyboards and similar devices. Furthermore, touch-sensitive screens and devices can be operated with the hands.
Diseases
- Chronic polyarthritis
- Echondrom
- lunate cyst
Various illnesses and injuries can occur in the hand, which can sometimes significantly limit its functions. Fractures of the hand or fingers and injuries to the tendons are particularly common.
However, diseases such as chronic polyarthritis (CP), which is an autoimmune disease , also frequently occur . The body’s own tissue is attacked by antibodies. Osteoarthritis of the finger joints is also painful and can significantly limit gripping function.
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a typical hand disorder. With this bottleneck syndrome in the carpal area on the median nerve, the people affected suffer from pain and discomfort. In addition, patients have problems accessing it. Carpal tunnel syndrome is usually caused by one-sided mechanical stress on the affected hand.
Other possible impairments on the hands are swellings such as a ganglion, an enchondroma or lunate cysts. Congenital malformations such as syndactyly, in which the fingers have grown together, can also occur. However, such malformations can usually be corrected surgically.
Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.