MICROANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -medial and lateral just refer to either closer, or further away to the midline. And just going back to the importance of the anatomical position, we would say that the little finger is medial to the thumb, because in the anatomical position, the little finger is closer to the midline.

Detailed explanation-2: -Anatomical Positions: A Universal Standard Reference Therefore, if one is in the standard anatomical position, their thumb is lateral, which means farther from the midline, and their little finger is medial.

Detailed explanation-3: -The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit.

Detailed explanation-4: -There is no lateral or medial side to the hand. One could argue that it’s how someone is in anatomical position, so obviously the small finger side is medial, unfortunately very few people walk around in anatomic position and it’s their thumbs that point to the body.