Why I hate the index finger

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2024-11-19 01:00:03

Abstract “Why I Hate the Index Finger” by William L. White, M.D., was originally published in Orthopaedic Review, Volume IX, No. 6 (June 1980) pp. 23–29. “The article is reprinted in HAND courtesy of Quadrant HealthCom, Inc., the publisher of The American Journal of Orthopedics (formerly Orthopaedic Review). A related article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11552-010-9278-4.”

M. F. Freshwater Deparment of Surgery, University of Miami School of Medicine, 9100 South Dadeland Boulevard, Suite 502, Miami, FL 33156-7815, USA e-mail: mfelix.freshwater@gmail.com

Precision prehension of the hand involves the thumb, index, and middle fingers. Prehension by these three digits is derived through the median nerve which supplies the extrinsic superficialis muscles, profundus muscles, and the flexor pollicis longus. In addition the same nerve supplies the lumbricals of the index and middle fingers and the positioning muscles of the thumb, the opponens, and the palmar abductor. The median nerve also supplies the tactile surfaces of the three digits.

In contrast to precision prehension, grip strength of the hand is primarily an ulnar nerve function and is obtained through the medial three digits and the thumb. The extrinsic profundus muscles of the ring and little fingers as well as their intrinsic muscles are supplied by the ulnar nerve. The tactile sense of the little finger and the medial half of the ring finger are also of ulnar nerve origin. In grip strength, the adductor of the thumb provides the power of contra force, and it too is supplied by the ulnar nerve.