This works shows the conceptual development of a finger mechanism for a prothestic hand. Three degrees of freedom of the finger are actuated by single DC motor, characterizing therefore an underactuated mechanical system. Mechanical torque developed by the motor is transmitted to the phalanges through tendons and is converted into flexion and extension torques by means of small pulleys. The ten...

In this issue, Naylor et al. [1] report on the surface topography of prosthetic phalanges, important research that is increasingly vital to researchers and clinicians alike.[...].

Brachydactyly (BD) is a term used to describe inherited anomalies of the hands generally characterised by shortened phalanges or metacarpals. Initially, the brachydactylies were grouped into five different classes (A-E), with three subtypes of A. Later work revised and extended the classification of BD. 3 In type A, shortening is primarily confined to the middle phalanges. Subtype A1 (BDA1, OMI...

Front cover: Cover image: An embryo of a house gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) with cartilagenous skeleton stained blue’. See A.H. Griffi ng and colleagues, ‘Ontogeny the paraphalanges derived phalanges Hemidactylus turcicus (Squamata: Gekkonidae)’, this issue.

The derived proportions of the human hand may provide supportive buttressing that protects the hand from injury when striking with a fist. Flexion of digits 2-5 results in buttressing of the pads of the distal phalanges against the central palm and the palmar pads of the proximal phalanges. Additionally, adduction of the thenar eminence to abut the dorsal surface of the distal phalanges of digi...

The forelimb of whales and dolphins is a flipper that shows hyperphalangy (numerous finger bones). Hyperphalangy is also present in marine reptiles, including ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. The developmental basis of hyper-phalangy is unclear. Kükenthal suggested that phalanx anlagen split into three pieces during cetacean development, thereby multiplying the ancestral number. Alternatively, Hol...

Elongation of the digit rays resulting in the formation of a defined number of phalanges is a process poorly understood in mammals, whereas in the chicken distal mesenchymal bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling in the so-called phalanx-forming region (PFR) or digit crescent (DC) seems to be involved. The human brachydactylies (BDs) are inheritable conditions characterized by variable degr...