Distal phalanx of thumb at a glance
- What it is
- The end bone of the thumb, supporting the nail and pulp.
- Location
- Articulates with the proximal phalanx at the thumb's single interphalangeal joint.
- Function
- Supports the thumb tip; flexor pollicis longus inserts on its base to flex it.
- Body system
- Skeletal · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA23951 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- It is broader and stouter than the distal phalanges of the fingers.
- The terminal tendon of extensor pollicis longus inserts on the dorsal side of its base.
- Its palmar skin is supplied by the median nerve.
Structures next to the distal phalanx of thumb
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Proximal phalanx of thumb · skeletal
- Proximal phalanx of index finger · skeletal
- Arteria princeps pollicis · cardiovascular
- Middle phalanx of index finger · skeletal
- Transverse head of adductor pollicis · muscular
- Proximal phalanx of middle finger · skeletal
- Second metacarpal bone · skeletal
- Lumbricals of hand · muscular
- First metacarpal bone · skeletal
- Distal phalanx of index finger · skeletal
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Distal phalanx of thumb (FMA23951). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §7.1 Divisions of the Skeletal System. Rice University, 2022.
- Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.
Related anatomy
Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.