Science desk
< August 20	<< Jul \| August \| Sep >>	August 22 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Science Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

August 21

Fat pads on palm at the base of fingers

Is there a medical term for the fat pads located on the palm just below the base of the fingers? (I know there are terms in palmistry, but I’m looking for the medical terms.) Also, is there any significance to having only three fat pads instead of four? --24.76.103.169 (talk) 02:57, 21 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Reviewing Hand, I'm not seeing where they come out and name those pad-like structures. However, notice that they are between the digits, like the webbing is. Hence there are only three of them. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:40, 21 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Callosity seems the term for natural occurrences. The connected term Callus seems to be restricted to diseased conditions of the same. --Kharon (talk) 03:57, 21 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Looking a Gray's Anatomy image there are no sub-dermal fat pads noted at the base of each finger but there is a continuous strip of fascia crossing the palm at the base of the fingers. This strip overlays the fascia running from the wrist up and into each finger. The crossing of these two strips of fascia may add to the impression of a pad at the base of each digit. But I tend to agree with Kharon that callosity of the skin probably has more to do with pad formation than underlying structure. Richard Avery (talk) 09:06, 21 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Only the thumb's "pad" has an established medical term. It is the thenar eminence. But, that refers more to the group of muscles than the skin overlaying the muscles. Just as there is no medical term for the skin on the elbow (regardless of what the Internet claims), there is no medical term for the skin areas around the palm of the hand. 209.149.113.5 (talk) 12:41, 21 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Not forgetting the hypothenar eminence on the other side of the palm from the thenar eminence.Klbrain (talk) 22:54, 21 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Inter-metacarpal adipose tissue.Toblerine (talk) 16:25, 26 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Aside from the mentioned eminentiae and palmar creases, in human surface anatomy there's only the palm. Some authors distinguish a proximal (central) and distal palm. Some animals have paw pads, though, (metacarpal pads), that are made of callused skin and fatty tissue. The human palmar fat pads appear to be a vestige. --46.189.28.91 (talk) 17:09, 26 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Having trouble finding normal and shear forces

I got the other answers. [1] I'm reviewing Statics ahead of the next semester, since I've forgotten a lot over the summer. Thank you. 161.185.160.175 (talk) 21:00, 21 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Winkler-Bach formula would be the place to look. As we don't (yet!) have an article on it, you're going to have to Google it. Andy Dingley (talk) 22:43, 21 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe try german wikipedia article de:Rittersches_Schnittverfahren together with google translate for a start. But i would highly advice otherwise because things like formula letters are often chosen differently in different countries, schools, from different professors, so you may end up very irritated by learning the same formulas with different letters.

If you are a student, you should ask/know what books are used or recommended by your professor or lecturer for statistics. They also often have some university-webpage about themselves and/or their courses where these recommended books are listed up. Go try to be one of the first at your local library or buy used ones from other students. --Kharon (talk) 21:47, 25 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]