Your thumb is different from your fingers. Your fingers have two joints and three bones called phalanges or phalanxes. A thumb only has one joint and two phalanges. ... The thumb is out to the side of the hand and lower than the four fingers.

Why the thumb is a finger?

Thumbs consist of only one joint and two phalanges (these are the bones that make up our digits) whereas the fingers have two joints and three phalanges. On top of this, the thumb is set lower on the hand. This could be to do with anything from grip to balance.

What finger number is the thumb?

In the system used in the Americas, the index finger represents 1; the index and middle fingers represents 2; the index, middle and ring fingers represents 3; the index, middle, ring, and little fingers represents 4; and the four fingers plus the thumb represents 5.