Anatomy
The end of the fingers on the human hand is called fingertip. The Latin term for the fingers of our hand is digitus manus. When we look at our hand, we see 5 different fingers: thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger and the little finger.
Despite the fact that all fingers are different, they all have parallelism in their structure and anatomy. The fingers have the same basic structure: The fingertip can also be called the foremost phalanx and the fingernail (lat. Unguis) is located on it.
This consists of keratin, a water-insoluble fibrous protein and primarily fulfils a protective function of the fingertip. In addition, it is only present in higher primates, since the nail is derived from the so-called epidermis, the uppermost part of our skin. Under the keratin-containing fingernail is the nail bed, which consists of connective tissue and is firmly fused with the periosteum.
In the area of the nail you can see the so-called nail moon, a white crescent-shaped mark. Apart from the nail, the fingertip also has an important meaning, for example it often appears in criminology: Each finger berry has a characteristic pattern which is unique and serves to identify an individual, the fingerprint. It contains many touch and pressure receptors, about 700 of them, and thus fulfills an important function for palpating an object.
Several arteries and veins are also found on the finger, as well as fatty tissue. The arteries that are most important here are end branches of the radial and ulnar arteries. In order to move the finger, we need muscles which are attached to the respective phalanx and play a decisive role for fine motor skills (e.g. writing and feeling).
The joint of the fingertip is a hinge joint, which enables bending (flexion) and stretching (extension). A ligamentous apparatus is also attached to the joints, which serves to stabilize the finger joint. This consists of two collateral ligaments and two additional ligaments on the back of the hand and fingers. There are also tendons that are secured by so-called ring and cruciate ligaments. An analogy to the finger joint is the toe joint, which anatomically has many similarities.
