A limb (from Old English lim , meaning "body part") is a jointed , muscled appendage of a tetrapod vertebrate animal used for weight-bearing , terrestrial locomotion and physical interaction with other objects. The distalmost portion of a limb is known as its extremity . The limbs' bony endoskeleton , known as the appendicular skeleton , is homologous among all tetrapods, who use their limbs for walking , running and jumping , swimming , climbing , grasping , touching and striking .
16-456: [REDACTED] Look up member or membership in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Member may refer to: Military jury , referred to as "Members" in military jargon Element (mathematics) , an object that belongs to a mathematical set In object-oriented programming , a member of a class Field (computer science) , entries in
32-414: A British punk rock band Meronymy , a semantic relationship in linguistics Church membership , belonging to a local Christian congregation, a Christian denomination and the universal Church Member, a participant in a club or learned society See also [ edit ] All pages with titles beginning with Member All pages with titles containing Member Topics referred to by
48-625: A computing service, especially on the Internet Member (geology) , a component of a geological formation Member of parliament The Members , a British punk rock band Meronymy , a semantic relationship in linguistics Church membership , belonging to a local Christian congregation, a Christian denomination and the universal Church Member, a participant in a club or learned society See also [ edit ] All pages with titles beginning with Member All pages with titles containing Member Topics referred to by
64-433: A database Member variable , a variable that is associated with a specific object Limb (anatomy) , an appendage of the human or animal body Euphemism for penis Structural component of a truss , connected by nodes User (computing) , a person making use of a computing service, especially on the Internet Member (geology) , a component of a geological formation Member of parliament The Members ,
80-399: A mathematical set In object-oriented programming , a member of a class Field (computer science) , entries in a database Member variable , a variable that is associated with a specific object Limb (anatomy) , an appendage of the human or animal body Euphemism for penis Structural component of a truss , connected by nodes User (computing) , a person making use of
96-401: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages member [REDACTED] Look up member or membership in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Member may refer to: Military jury , referred to as "Members" in military jargon Element (mathematics) , an object that belongs to
112-430: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Limb (anatomy) All tetrapods have four limbs that are organized into two bilaterally symmetrical pairs, with one pair at each end of the torso , which phylogenetically correspond to the four paired fins ( pectoral and pelvic fins ) of their fish ( sarcopterygian ) ancestors. The cranial pair (i.e. closer to
128-462: The hand , has five opposable digits known as fingers (made up of metacarpal and metatarsal bones for hands and feet respectively) and specializes in intrinsic fine motor skills for precise manipulation of objects . The human legs and their extremities — the feet — are specialized for bipedal locomotion . Compared to most other mammals that walk and run on all four limbs , human limbs are proportionally weaker but very mobile and versatile, and
144-414: The head ) of limbs are known as the forelimbs or front legs , and the caudal pair (i.e. closer to the tail or coccyx ) are the hindlimbs or back legs . In animals with a more erect bipedal posture (mainly hominid primates , particularly humans ), the forelimbs and hindlimbs are often called upper and lower limbs , respectively. The fore-/upper limbs are connected to the thoracic cage via
160-735: The pectoral/shoulder girdles , and the hind-/lower limbs are connected to the pelvis via the hip joints . Many animals, especially the arboreal species, have prehensile forelimbs adapted for grasping and climbing , while some (mostly primates) can also use hindlimbs for grasping. Some animals ( birds and bats ) have expanded forelimbs (and sometimes hindlimbs as well) with specialized feathers or membranes to achieve lift and fly . Aquatic and semiaquatic tetrapods usually have limb features (such as webbings ) adapted to better provide propulsion in water, while marine mammals and sea turtles have convergently evolved flattened, paddle -like limbs known as flippers . In human anatomy ,
176-510: The rib cage connected only via the clavicles (to the sternum ) and numerous muscles; while the pelvic girdles are typically fused together anteriorly via a fibrocartilaginous joint and posteriorly with the vertebral column ( sacrum ), forming an immobile ring-like pelvis . The girdles are each connected to the corresponding limb proper via a ball-and-socket synovial joint . The overall patterns of forelimbs and hindlimbs are homologous among all tetrapods, as they all branched out of
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#1732837485784192-459: The same bottlenecked lineage of stegocephalians that survived the Late Devonian extinction . The body plan of tetrapod limbs are so similar (especially the pentadactyly ) that they are given shared terminologies for each component of the appendicular skeleton . Limb development is controlled by Hox genes . All jawed vertebrates surveyed so far organize their developing limb buds in
208-409: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Member . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Member&oldid=1225318997 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
224-409: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Member . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Member&oldid=1225318997 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
240-404: The unique dexterity of the human upper extremities allows them to make sophisticated tools and machines that compensate for the lack of physical strength and endurance . Limbs are attached to the torso via girdles , either the pectoral girdle for the forelimbs , or the pelvic girdle for the hindlimbs . In terrestrial tetrapods, the pectoral girdles are more mobile, floating over
256-419: The upper and lower limbs are commonly known as the arms and legs respectively, although in academic usage, these terms refer specifically to the upper arm and lower leg (the lower arm and upper leg are instead called forearm and thigh , respectively). The human arms have relatively great ranges of motion and are highly adapted for grasping and for carrying objects . The extremity of each arm, known as
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