Understanding the anatomy of the hand is crucial to being able to treat the hand. Once all the 27 bones have been memorized, one must begin to look at the complex ligamentous structures of the hand. The easiest way for me to explain the distal interphalangeal joint, DIP, and the distal interphalangeal joint, PIP, joints is by describing them as knee joints. If you think of these joints as knees, simple hinge joints, all lateral structures are simply tested by doing medial and lateral collateral joint tests. But what about the volar plate or the extensor mechanism? This is what makes hands so complicated and we are only talking about the fingers!
Learn more in the Hand Structure Course.
