4

According to Wikipedia, the human hand is conventionally divided into the following parts:

  • Wrist: The region surrounding the carpal bones.
  • Palm: The underside of the hand, lying superficial the metacarpal bones.
  • Opisthenar (AKA back of the hand): The dorsal area lying opposite to the palm.
  • Heel of the hand: The area of the palm that is most proximal, lying over the bases of the metacarpals.
  • Digits: The four fingers and the opposable thumb.

Meanwhile, the human foot is conventionally divided into three parts:

  • Hindfoot: Comprises both the ankle (talus) and the heel (calcaneus).
  • Midfoot: Comprises the arches of the foot, made by the remaining five bones of the tarsus.
  • Forefoot: Comprises the anterior "half" of the foot that is formed by the metatarsal bones as well as the five toes attached to them. (Theoretically, it's probably reasonable to just identify the metatarsus alone as the forefoot proper, since the toes are technically appendages of the foot as a whole.)
  • Sole: The underside of the foot as a whole.
  • Instep: The arched part of the top of the foot between the ankle and the toes.
  • Toes: The digits of the foot.

However, this leaves a very crucial question unanswered: Are there plain English names for the "main body" of the hand/foot, i.e. the 3-dimensional portion that lies between the wrist/ankle bone and the digits, as opposed to their separate subdivisions or 2-dimensional surfaces?

Improve this question
3
  • 1
    I found a few references to the cradle of the hand
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Aug 31, 2018 at 19:04
  • Nope, I do not believe so.
    – lbf
    Commented Aug 31, 2018 at 19:21
  • There certainly isn't a "main body" of the hand or foot. In regular language, palm of the hand [it does not include fingers] and sole of the foot. Medically, a sole may include toes, but if I say, my feet hurt, it means the soles of my feet and would not include my toes. Hurting toes is not usually included in hurting feet. That is, it is the soles of one's feet that hurt. So, the language is there. You just need to know how to use it.
    – Lambie
    Commented Aug 31, 2018 at 21:59

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

Sure, these are the 'metacarpus' or 'body of the hand' and the 'metatarsus' or 'body of the foot'. The anatomical/zoological terms ('metacarpus' and 'metatarsus') are also used, more specifically, to refer to the bones in those parts of the hand and foot, but generally, as determined by context, those are the terms.

metacarpus, n.
....
...the part of the human hand that is located between the wrist (carpus) and the fingers....

metatarsus, n.
....
...the group of bones...lying between the tarsus (ankle) and the phalanges (toes); the part of the foot...containing these bones.

OED, text emphasis added.

Improve this answer
0

I can’t answer for hand, but people with flat feet suffer from fallen arches. So the bottom part of the foot between the ball and heel is an arch.

And the ball of the foot is the fleshy part that "touches" the floor in stilettos.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .