Hand skin

Cutis manus

Integumentary (skin)SkinArmLeft and right

View left in 3D View right in 3D

What it is

Skin of the hand: thick, hair-less, ridged glabrous skin on the palm (facing forward in the anatomical position) with thenar and hypothenar eminences, thin mobile skin on the back, four fingers of three phalanges and an abducted, rotated two-phalanx thumb.

Function

The body's main tactile organ: fingertips carry the densest touch receptors (Meissner and Merkel), and friction ridges and sweat improve grip.

Size

Hand length ~19 cm, palm ~8.8 cm wide and ~10 cm long; palmar skin up to ~1.5 mm epidermis

Clinical note

Fingerprint ridge patterns are fixed by the 17th week of fetal life and are unique even in identical twins.