THE HUMAN HAND ; A SCHOOL LESSON 33 



weapon ; we might call it a claw, which has become so 

 broad and thin as to be incapable of inflicting a serious 

 wound. 



How many bones are there in the human hand ? There 

 are first of all five long bones enclosed in the skin and 

 flesh of the palm ; the knuckles show where the upper 

 ends of these long bones come. The long bone of the 

 thumb is more moveable than the rest, and well clothed 



FIG. 9. Bones of the human hand. 



with flesh. These long bones are named metacarpals. 

 Beyond them come the phalanges, and you will find that 

 every finger has three phalanges except the fir^t finger or 

 thumb, which has only two. So we see that tne bones of 

 the hand are 5x4-1, that is 19. Make a plan of the 

 bones of the hand by drawing strokes to represent the 

 different bones, or better still, string pieces of tobacco- 

 pipe, broken to the right lengths, along five wires, which 

 can then be fastened together at one end. 

 The hand contains skin and bones what else ? You 



C 



