hand

(hand) [L. man’us]. The carpus, metacarpus, and fingers together. ape-h., a hand with the thumb permanently extended. apos to lich., a hand affected with Dupuytren’s contraction. benediction h., a hand in which the ring and little fingers are flexed, the thumb and other two fingers remaining normal: seen in ulnar paralysis and syringomyelia; called also preacher’s h. clawh., flexion and atrophy of the hand and fingers, producing paralysis of the intrinsic muscles of the hand: seen in the lower arm type of paralysis; called also main en grife. cleft h., malformation of the hand in which the division between the fingers extends into the metacarpus. crab h., severe inflammation of the hand due to a scratch by the shell of acrab. electric h., the hand used as an electrode. monkey-h., a hand showing atrophy of the thenar muscles; called also main en singe. obstetrician’s h., contraction of the hand in tetany (gastric). The thumb is strongly adducted, the fingers are drawn against each other and are half-flexed (over the thumb) at the metacarpophalangeal joint, and the sides of the palm are turned in to form a cone. preacher’s h. See benedictionh. skeleton-h., a hand markedly atrophied and held in a position of extension: seen in progre ive muscular atrophy; called also main en squelette. spade h., the thick, square hand of myxedema and acromegaly. trident h., the characteristic hand of achondroplasia: the fingers are relatively of the same length, and there is a peculiar separation of the second and third fingers at the second phalangeal joint, causing the fingers to spread out.