If that starts to hurt, or gets big enough to look like a bump or a mass, you may have carpometacarpal joint disorder (CMC), a common condition that is partly genetic and partly from repetitive use, according to Bergin. This is called the first carpometacarpal joint. The thumb may appear to only have two knuckles, but it actually has a third, right above the wrist. "Thus it's the thumb that allows us to easily pen an essay, turn a nut, pick up a coin, or button a shirt." 8. Other than pinching and grasping, Katz points out that the thumb "translates, rotates, and flexes all at once." This coordinated set of motions provides strength and dexterity. YOUR THUMB MAKES AN ASTONISHINGLY WIDE VARIETY OF MOTIONS. "It was a precursor to transplant surgery and plastic or reconstructive surgery as we know it today," he says. Katz also points out that "there used to be a common surgical procedure for thumb reconstruction, where the patient's hand was sewn to their foot for a period of time." This procedure was called the Nicoladani procedure, after the German surgical innovator Carol Nicoladoni. IT'S BETTER THAN HAVING YOUR HAND SEWN TO YOUR FOOT. But Katz cites the American Medical Association's "Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment", which states your thumb is so important that a complete amputation "will result in a 40 percent impairment to the whole hand." In fact, they claim that it would take "a complete amputation of the middle, ring, and small fingers to equal the impairment of an amputated thumb." 6. It may not seem like a big deal to lose one thumb-after all, you've got another one. … BUT IS A THUMB WORTH LOSING A TOE OVER? The second toe can be used too, as you can see in this medical journal, but we warn you: It's not for the faint of heart. "The toe is then brought to life by sewing together small arteries and veins under a microscope," Katz says, a complicated surgery that has become vastly more sophisticated over the years. "It can be rebuilt by surgeons using your big toe." This specialized surgery uses microvascular surgery techniques to transfer your big toe to your hand, where it will function almost exactly as your thumb did. If you should lose a thumb, fear not, says Katz. These include orangutans, chimpanzees, a phylum of frogs known as phyllomedusa, some lemurs, and giant pandas-although their thumb-like apparatus is really just an extra sesamoid bone that acts like a thumb. A handful of other animals, mostly primates, have opposable thumbs, or toes, as the case may be. It evolved in such a way that we can use it to do so many amazing things, and it's one of the things that separates us from other animals," Bergin says. THE THUMB SEPARATES US FROM OTHER ANIMALS. The reason is because there's a big artery in the thumb, the princeps pollicis artery, and arteries pulse, making it difficult to feel a pulse in a neck if you're using your thumb. You might have noticed that medical professionals take a pulse with the middle and index finger. "Some say this is why we have language," he says, "because we can hold things in our hands and use our mouths for something else-such as discussing the functions of the thumb." 2. Moreover, Fishman says, it may have even contributed to our cognitive function. The evolution of a thumb helped our ancestors evolve to be better at defense, allowing for throwing and clubbing activities. OPPOSABLE THUMBS MAY HAVE FREED UP OUR ANCESTORS' MOUTHS FOR LANGUAGE.
This is why they're known as "opposable thumbs." To bring you these 11 facts about the thumb, Mental Floss spoke with three experts on this unique digit: Barbara Bergin, an orthopedic surgeon in Houston Loren Fishman, medical director of Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, in NYC and Ryan Katz, attending hand surgeon at the Curtis Hand Center, located at the Medstar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore. Thumbs only have two bones, so they're obviously shorter, and they play a very important role that no other finger can claim thanks to their unique saddle-like joint shape, and a little muscle known as the abductor pollicis brevis, you can bend and stretch your thumbs opposite your fingers to grip things. When it comes to the fingers on your hand, the thumb definitely does its own thing. Think of it as a mini digital encyclopedia with a dose of wow.
#Is there an artery in your thumb series#
Our series The Body explores human anatomy, part by part. And yet most of us don't know enough about it: its features, functions, quirks, and mysteries. For each one of us, it's the most intimate object we know.