The Skeletal System

By the time a human reaches adulthood, the skeletal system is made up of 206 bones. It also includes all the tendons, cartilages and the networks of ligaments that help to connect them. This system plays a major role in many body functions like movement, protection, support and stability, blood cell production and calcium storage – that enable us to live.

One of the many groups of bones is called phalanges, the bones found in human fingers. It comes from the Latin word “phalanx” meaning “a compact body of heavily armed men in a battle array”. Ossification of these bones happens from two centers: one for the body and the other one for the proximal extremity. It starts in the body, approximately on the eight week of fetal life. While the formation

Each hand consists 14 phalanges, making it 28 for both. Each finger has three while for thumb is two only. These are named according to their relationship to the palm or hand, whether they are proximal, intermediate, distal, and according to the finger they are attached to. The proximal phalanges are located at the base of the fingers, just below the carpus. These are actually longer than the carpal bones. Each hand is comprised of five proximal phalanges. The intermediate ones are found in between the proximal and the distal. The thumb lacks this, making it four intermediate phalanges for each hand. The series of bones found at the tip of the hand are the distal phalanges, the smallest among the three, five on each hand. All the phalanges articulate with one another through interphalageal articulations.

The distal phalanges on their palmar surface are flat, small and with a roughened, elevated surface of horseshoe, supporting the digital pulp. The tips of these phalanges, called apical tuffs, are flat and wide. The thumb gives an insertion for the flexor pollicis longus or FPL, ungual fossa, and a pair of ungual spines. The assymmetrical feature of the FPL make sure that the thumb pulp is always facing the pulps of the other digits, which provides the optimum contact surface with held

It is a case wherein the extensor tendon that crosses the distal interphalageal joint or DIP responsible for the straightening of the finger is damaged, causing the finger to be deformed. A flexion force applied on the tip of the extended finger pushes the DIP to flex. It usually happens on many athletes. This occurs when an object, for example a ball with a high velocity strikes the finger creating a huge impact to the bones and forcibly bends it. A worse thing can happen, when the force is greater it may pull away a bone along with the tendon. As a result, the tip of the finger can no longer straighten itself. Even a minor movement like folding your clothes can cause this kind of injury. This kind of fracture is identified as an avulsion. The long, ring and pinky fingers are the most likely to be