The Extra Thumb in the Mole & the Giant Panda is not a real finger: it’s a Sesamoid Bone!

A mole has (only) 5 digits + a large sickle shaped sesamoid bone.

Vertebrates usually have five fingers on each hand, but in some specifies – including the Great Panda & the Mole – the hand ‘appears’ to be featured with an extra thumb (polydactly). Earlier this week paleontologists from the University of Zurich have uncovered a new theory about the underlying biological causes that are responsible for the mole’s extra thumb.

The researchers see a connection between the species-specific formation of the extra thumb in the mole and the peculiar “male” genital apparatus of female moles. In many mole species, the females have masculinized genitals and so-called “ovotestes,” i.e. gonads with testicular and ovary tissue instead of normal ovaries. Androgenic steroids are known to influence bone growth, transformation and changes, as well as the transformation of tendons in joints. A high level of maternal testosterone is also thought to be one of the causes of polydactyly in humans.

ABOUT SESAMOID BONES & EXTRA THUMBS! 

Anatomically, what ‘appears’ to be extra thumb that is seen in the Mole and the Giant Panda can be described as the result of excessive growth of the so-called sesamoid bones which are typically found in all vertebrates at the end of the thumb metacarpal.

NOTICE: Sesamoid bones are found in locations where a tendon passes over a joint.

In the human hand sesamoid bones are rather small and they act to protect the tendon and to increase its mechanical effect – so they play a key role in the multi-functionality of the human hand, see the picture below.

- Sesamoid bones in the human hand -

However, in some other vertebrate species sesamoid bones have a more explicite function for it’s owner.

E.g. in the mole’s paw the extra thumb is shaped by a sesamoid bone manifesting as a sickle shape which gives the mole a bigger surface for digging.

And in the Giant Panda’s paw the extra thumb is actually shaped by a radial sesamoid larger than the same bone in counterparts such as bears. It is primarily a bony support for the pad above it, allowing the panda’s other digits to grasp bamboo while eating it. 

The Giant Panda has 5 digits + a large sesamoid bone.

 
NOT A REAL FINGER!

These considerations implicate that Moles and Giant Pandas do not really have an extra finger. This is confirmed by the fact that their ‘appearance’ of an extra finger is not featured with other typical characteristics seen in the other fingers – e.g. a nail (claw) & phalanges are missing, and embryology studies have revealed that the extraordinary sesamoid bone in both the Mole and the Panda starts developming at a much later stage compared to the 5 digits that are typically seen in every vertebrate!

MORE ABOUT THE HANDS IN VERTEBRATES:
• The mystery of the five fingers

Actresses, Models & Singers with Clubbed Thumbs… is a Toe Thumb ‘Sexy’?

In the acting and modelling profession, where outward appearance is important, quite a few people with ’clubbed thumbs’ have become successful. Next to Megan Fox (see previous post) being the most well-known example there is a considerable list of models & actresses who have the same thumb abnormality.

Maybe, some might now think that a toe tumb can be ‘sexy’, but the truth is that brachydactyly type d is a common trait in the general population - though the prevalence varies among populations around the world. According the World of Clubbed Thumbs the statistics are: 0.1% of blacks, 0.4% of whites, 1.6% of Jews and 3% of Arabs.

 
The list of models & actresses with a brachydactyly type d thumb includes (alphabetic order):

• Malin Akerman (Swedish-Canadian actress & model):

 

• Megan Fox (US actress & model):

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• Sanaa Lathan (US actress):

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• Leighton Meester (US actress & singer):

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• Vittoria Puccini (Italian actress):

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• Ashley Tesoro (US actress, model & singer):

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• Anna Walton (UK actress):

 
NOTICE: A longer list of celebrities who have ‘clubbed thumbs’ is available at Facebook.

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More hands of actors, models, celebrities & movie stars are available here: http://www.handresearch.com/hands-of-fame.htm

HANDS & EVOLUTION – What if… Cats had Opposable Thumbs?

Okay, you probably know that the human opposable thumb plays a significant role in the fact that human kind is ruling the world. But what if cats had opposable thumbs? Would they let us live in peace, or would we be welcoming our new cat overlords?

Cravendale Milk shows us one possible vision of the thumb-catted future in a new ad where thumbcat thugs try to roll humans for cartons of milk.

Scary idea?

HANDS & EVOLUTION – How did the Human Hand & Foot evolve?

Scientists simulated the change of the primate hand into the human hand.

Scientists may have solved the mystery of how human hands became nimble enough to make and manipulate stone tools.

The team reports in the journal Evolution that changes in our hands and fingers were a side-effect of changes in the shape of our feet.

This, they say, shows that the capacity to stand and walk on two feet is intrinsically linked to the emergence of stone tool technology.

The scientists used a mathematical model to simulate the changes.

Other researchers, though, have questioned this approach.

Campbell Rolian, a scientist from the University of Calgary in Canada who led the study, said: “This goes back to Darwin’s The Descent of Man.

“[Charles Darwin] was among the first to consider the relationship between stone tool technology and bipedalism.”

“His idea was that they were separate events and they happened sequentially – that bipedalism freed the hand to evolve for other purposes.”

“What we showed was that the changes in the hand and foot are similar developments… and changes in one would have side-effects manifesting in the other.”

Shape-shifting

To study this, Dr Rolian and his colleagues took measurements from the hands and feet of humans and of chimpanzees.

Their aim was to find out how the hands and feet of our more chimp-like ancestors would have evolved.

The researchers’ measurements showed a strong correlation between similar parts of the hand and foot. “So, if you have a long big toe, you tend have a long thumb,” Dr Rolian explained.

“One reason fingers and toes may be so strongly correlated is that they share a similar genetic and developmental ‘blueprint’, and small changes to this blueprint can affect the hand and foot in parallel,” he said.

With this anatomical data, the researchers were able to create their mathematical simulation of evolutionary change.

“We used the mathematical model to simulate the evolutionary pressures on the hands and feet,” Dr Rolian explained.

This model essentially adjusted the shape of the hands or the feet, recreating single, small evolutionary changes to see what effect they had.

By simulating this evolutionary shape-shifting, the team found that changes in the feet caused parallel changes in the hands, especially in the relative proportions of the fingers and toes.

These parallel changes or side-effects, said Dr Rolian, may have been an important evolutionary stem that allowed human ancestors, including Neanderthals, to develop the dexterity for stone tool technology.

Robin Crompton, professor of anatomy at the UK’s Liverpool University, said the study was very interesting but also raised some questions.

“I am not personally convinced that the foot and hand of chimpanzees are a good model [of human ancestors' hands and feet] – the foot of the lowland gorilla may be more interesting in this respect,” he told BBC News.

He pointed out that there was a lot more to the functional shape and biomechanics of the human foot than just its proportions.

Paul O’Higgins, professor of anatomy at the Hull York Medical School, UK, said: “The results are quite exciting and will doubtless spur further testing and additional work.”

The hand in Marfan syndrome: thin fingers, hand signs, hypermobility, skin quality & more!

Marfan syndrome can be understood as a connective tissue disorder – which relates to the tissue that strengthens the body. The syndrome is usually featured with a tall, slender body with long limbs & extremely long, thin fingers & toes. The most serious complications are the defects of the heart valves and the aorta, which could lead to an aortic rupture (due to too much stress on the aorta), which is usually fatal. But many people who have this disorder are not aware of it! This is partly because Marfan syndrome typically becomes manifest only after the age of 5. But there are many hand signs that have a highly reliable diagnostic value!

Marfan syndrome is featured with many typical hand characteristics, however a combination of two specific hands signs related to a long hand shape (hand signs) & hand motorics (joint hypermobility) is often enough to identify the disorder.

The Steinberg sign & Walker-Murdoch sign.

THE STEINBERG SIGN (a):

This test is used for the clinical evaluation of Marfan patients.

Procedure:
Instruct the patient to fold his thumb into the closed fist. This test is positive if the thumb tip extends from palm of hand (see figure a).

THE WALKER-MURDOCH SIGN (b):

This test is used for the evaluation of patients with Marfan syndrome.

Procedure:
Instruct the patient to grip his wrist with his opposite hand. If thumb and fifth finger of the hand overlap with each other, this represents a positive Walker-Murdoch sign (see figure b).

JOINT HYPERMOBILITY

How to check if a person has hypermobility? You can check this easily by doing the 5 tests that are included in the so-called ‘Beighton score‘: see figure 1.

A ‘Beighton score’ of 4 or above usually indicates hypermobility.

And if a person has the Sternberg sign + Walker-Murdoch sign + hypermobility, the chances are above 90% that the person has Marfan syndrome.

The presence of other related hand markers such as: skin quality (hyperextensiblity), a simian crease, extra digital transverse creases, or a high positioned axial triradius provide other significant hand signs which are indicative for a person to have a medical test for Marfan syndrome.

A typical 'Marfan' hand gesture!

HRITHIK ROSHAN – The first Madame Tussauds celebrity with an extraordinary hand: a double thumb tribute!

Hrithik Roshan - the Bollywood actor has a double thumb!

On january 22, 2011 Madame Tussauds (London) presented it’s very first celebrity who has an inborn hand condition: the Indian Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan has a double thumb on his right hand. In medical science this hand abnormality is known as: ‘polydactyly’.

Hrithik Roshan became the fifth Bollywood star to have his wax statue unveiled at the world-famous Madame Tussauds museum in London. Hrithik Roshan spoke during an interview in London, January 20, 2011 after he unveiled his wax double at Madame Tussauds museum there – see the video below (including impressions of his extra thumb).

Just like Megan Fox’s clubbed thumb, Roshan’s double thumb has never really been a handicap for his acting career.

•  A photo tribute to Hrithik Roshan’s double thumb
•  Modern hand reading: the hands of Hrithik Roshan

 

Megan Fox has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – what are the associated hand characteristics?

Earlier this month actress Megan Fox claimed to have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Psychodiagnostic Chirology describes some typical hand characteristics that have been associated with this disorder. Do Megan’s hands confirm that she has OCD? In the in the June 2010 issue of Allure magazine (not yet published) Megan Fox describes that she suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and has problems with everyday scenarios. Megan explained, “This is a sickness, I have an illness. Every time someone uses a bathroom and they flush, all the bacteria is shot into the air.” Ms. Fox also brings her own silverware wherever she goes. “Putting my mouth where a million other mouths have been, just knowing all the bacteria that you carry in your mouth? Ucch!” Fox also claimed that she can cope without food, Megan also insisted she wouldn’t mind going for lengthy periods of time without any human contact as she prefers her own company. She said: “I could go days, weeks, without talking to another human being. I hate receiving compliments; I hate being told I’m talented or people think I’m going to be a movie star. I always feel that it’s forced and fake.” OCD & HANDS PDC analyst Arnold Holtzman has described in his book about Psychodiagnostic Chirology a list of 7 hand characteristics that appear to be associated with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Let’s see if Megan Fox’s hand meet those characteristics: NOTIFICATION: Holtzman described in this book very explicitly: “Each of the (7) features noted below must be in evidence for a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder to be valid.” >> 7 Hand characteristics of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: • 1 Hard & inflexible hands and the palms are never soft, nor dysplastic – No, Megan appears to have flexible hands; • 2 Pronounced knuckles – No, Megan has smooth fingers; • 3 Nail phalanges of ring- + middle finger are spatulate in shape & always heavier than the base phalanges – Yes, but Megan has only spatulate fingernails; but her ‘famous’ thumb appears to be significant here, for obviously the nail phalange of her thumb is ‘heavy’ (it’s the condition named: brachydactyly type d); • 4 Pronounced muscular tonus, including a sharp ‘thumb angle’ (see picture below) – Yes, Megan has the typical thumb angle; • 5 Back of the hands: coarse skin with a masculine texture – No, obviously Megan doesn’t have a masculine texture; • 6 Ring finger is longer than index finger – Yes, Megan’s ring finger is a bit longer than her index finger (though her finger length appears to be within the range of ‘normal’: see picture below); • 7 Palm is square shaped, and never long and narrow – Yes, Megan’s palm appears to be a bit square shaped. CONCLUSION? Megan Fox appears to have some of the typical hand characteristics that are associated with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but no more that 4 out of 7 of the OCD associated hand characteristics – which is formally not high enough to confirm Megan’s problem. What do you think? Does Megan Fox have ODC? SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: • Psychodiagnostic Chirology – a complete review! • Megan Fox has the clubbed thumb! • Megan Fox needed a ‘hand-double’! • ‘Hands of fame’ – the hand of famous people! • Yasser Arafat’s hand: ‘gravitation to obsessions’

BARACK OBAMA – Into the hands of the world’s most popular leader!

Into the hands of Barack Obama – US President

Recently Barack Obama was recognized in an international poll as the most popular leader in the world of today, and this week Obama was also listed in the 2010 TIME TOP 100 as the no. 4. of world’s most influential people (in the 2009 TIME TOP 100 he was listed as no.20). Into the hands of Barack Obama – a tribute to the hands of the current US president!

The most remarkable hand characteristics of Barack Obama’s hands are:

>> THUMB: Slender & waisted;
>> FINGERS: Slender & bony, low set index finger, low 2D:4D digit ratio, long ring finger, long pinky finger;
>> FINGERPRINTS: (unknown);
>> HAND SHAPE: Narrow & long palms;
>> HAND LINES: Strong primary lines, multiple long ‘ring finger lines’ (a.k.a. ‘sun lines’ or ‘apollo lines’).

MORE ABOUT OBAMA’S HANDS:
• 4 Out of the 5 last US presidents were left-handed!
• What hand experts say about Barack Obama’s hands!
• Psychodiagnostic hand analysis of Barack Obama’s hands!
• FINGER LENGTH: Barack Obama’s “digit ratio”!
• TIME’s presidental palm readings: hand files of the last 10 US presidents!

Foot provides clue to the evolution of human hand!

Is the mystery about the evolution of the human hand solved? • What did Charles Darwin say about hands & feet? Scientists from Canada may have solved the mystery of how human hands became nimble enough to make and manipulate stone tools – it may be a side-effect of evolutionary changes in our feet! A BBC report describes that the discussion continues – for other scientists now question the mathematical model which was used to simulate the changes between the hands & feet of chimpanzees and humans. Campbell Rolian, a scientist from the University of Calgary described: “This goes back to Darwin’s The Descent of Man. “[Charles Darwin] was among the first to consider the relationship between stone tool technology and bipedalism.” “His idea was that they were separate events and they happened sequentially – that bipedalism freed the hand to evolve for other purposes.” “What we showed was that the changes in the hand and foot are similar developments… and changes in one would have side-effects manifesting in the other.” “So, if you have a long big toe, you tend have a long thumb.” “One reason fingers and toes may be so strongly correlated is that they share a similar genetic and developmental ‘blueprint’, and small changes to this blueprint can affect the hand and foot in parallel. We used the mathematical model to simulate the evolutionary pressures on the hands and feet.” SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: • The evolution of the human hand! • Five major differences between the primate hand & the human hand! • Primate hands: finger length linked with social behavior! • Beagle report: Charles Darwin had the long pointer finger • The six digit man – hand satire from the Bill Gates Medical Center! The primate foot & the human foot.

Megan Fox has stubby thumbs – PART 2: A hand double replaced Megan Fox for her Motorola Super Bowl commercial!

• Megan Hands – a tribute to her hands & fingernails! • Megan Fox thumbs: the story of her stubby thumb! THE MEGAN FOX THUMB STORY – PART 1: In the summer of 2009 Megan Fox’s right thumb became a hot news item in ‘gossip land’ after new photos revealed that the beauty – who was voted in 2008 by FHM as the “sexiest woman in the world“ – has a rather remarkable ‘minor physical anomaly’ (MPA): a stubby thumb – featured with a broad, short fingernail in both hands (see the pictures below). THE MEGAN FOX THUMB STORY – PART 2: But Megan Fox’s thumbs became world news after a Daily mail reporter had noticed that when Megan Fox appeared on february 7, 2010 in a Motorola commercial during the Super Bowl event … her hands were replaced by a ‘hand double’ with much longer fingernails: see the pictures below! Megan Fox’s right thumb (left) + an impression from the Motorola Super Bowl commercial (right), featured with the youtube version of the full commercial (below):   - MORE FAMOUS HANDS & FINGERNAILS -

The recent news about Megan Fox’s clubbed thumbs has generated a rainbow of negative responses. But probably miss Fox is not responsible her for the hand double replacement in the Motorola Super Bowl commercial – which was probably a decision made by the producers (last year a likewise report was noticed regarding the hands of Madonna). A few more impressions of Megan Fox’s thumbs & fingernails: A final but not unimportant notification… Knowing about Megan Fox’s little imperfection will help other people to realize that – when not overplayed by the owner – any small cosmetic defect might only add to the charms of the person! SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: • An ‘Ode to the thumb’ – by French sculptor César Baldaccini! • Fingernail clubbing might signal various medical problems! • Scientific article: ‘Congenital thumb deformities’ • Scientific article: ‘Abnormal thumbs and physical diagnosis’ • Megan Fox has clubbed thumbs!