The Wonder of the Human Hand: Care and Repair of the Body's Most Marvelous Instrument

The Wonder of the Human Hand: Care and Repair of the Body's Most Marvelous Instrument

by E. F. Shaw Wilgis MD (Editor)

Overview

Using our hands, we interact with the environment in ways that are more sophisticated, more varied, and more productive than any other part of our body. The delicate instrument that is the hand makes it possible for us to knead dough and perform a heart transplant; make contact with strangers, friends, and lovers; throw a baseball; and create a scale model of a skyscraper and build that skyscraper. From the most mundane activity to our most sublime achievement, the hand has helped us shape the world and given us a deeper understanding of our place in it.

In The Wonder of the Human Hand, surgeons and hand specialists from the world-renowned Curtis National Hand Center describe how the hand is used in work, sports, and music, and trace the human fascination with hands in religion and art. They relate awe-inspiring stories of people throughout history—including major league pitcher Jim Abbott, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Liebe Diamond, and pianist Leon Fleisher—who accomplished great things with one hand, or with impaired or injured hands, and they tell of marvelous surgeries that create fingers where none exist.

Recounting how the hand interprets the environment and returns tactile information to the brain, the book underscores the importance of the hand to people who cannot see or hear. Throughout, the authors explore how medical science restores bones, tendons, nerves, muscles, and blood vessels in hands injured through disease, accident, and combat—ever aware of how the form and function of the human hand combine harmoniously in everyday activities and Herculean efforts alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781421415482
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date: 11/01/2014
Series: A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book
Pages: 208
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

E. F. Shaw Wilgis, M.D., is one of the founding members of the Curtis National Hand Center, where he served as chief from 1983 to 2000 and research director from 2000 to 2013. He is the author of Vascular Injuries and Diseases of the Upper Limb.

Table of Contents

Preface. Work, Play, Love: The Marvel of the Human Hand E. F. Shaw Wilgis vii

Introduction. Touched: Hands+Environment=Life E. F. Shaw Wilgis 1

Chapter 1 Form Follows Function: The Anatomy of the Hand Ryan D. Katz 5

Chapter 2 Less (or More) than a Perfect 10: Congenital Differences Michael A. McClinton 16

Chapter 3 It's Only a Game: The Athlete's Hand W. Hugh Baugher Thomas J. Graham 39

Chapter 4 Worn Down but Not Out: The Arthritic Hand Philip Clapham Kevin C. Chung 54

Chapter 5 Good Vibrations: The Musician's Hand Raymond A. Wittstadt 66

Chapter 6 See What You Mean: Hearing with Your Eyes and Speaking with Your Hands in American Sign Language Rebecca J. Saunders 83

Chapter 7 Life Is What Happens When You're Busy Making Other Plans: Injuries at Work and at Home Keith A. Segalman 93

Chapter 8 When Disease Hurts the Hand: Diabetes and the Hand Kenneth R. Means 112

Chapter 9 Sense and Sensibility: Seeing the World with Braille and Understanding Nerve Impairment Syndromes Ryan M. Zimmerman Neal B. Zimmerman 125

Chapter 10 The Renoir Effect: Contractures and Spasticity Christopher L. Forthman 142

Chapter 11 Where Do We Go from Here? Future Innovations in Hand Surgery James P. Higgins 158

Resources 177

List of Contributors 179

Index 181

What People are Saying About This

"Substantial and original, The Wonder of the Human Hand combines interesting anecdotes with scientific explanations as it examines the unique role that the hand has in relationship to the very nature of being human. This book will appeal to lay persons, artists, physical therapists, musicians, medical historians, and anyone with a particular interest in hands."

Prosper Benhaim

"Substantial and original, The Wonder of the Human Hand combines interesting anecdotes with scientific explanations as it examines the unique role that the hand has in relationship to the very nature of being human. This book will appeal to lay persons, artists, physical therapists, musicians, medical historians, and anyone with a particular interest in hands."

Customer Reviews