Each finger consists of three bones
called phalanges. Tendons generally connect muscle to bone, and
ligaments generally connect bone to bone. The tendons that control
the bones in fingers are attached to seventeen muscles in the palm
of the hand and eighteen in the forearm. Some are very small and
help control each individual finger.
When rock climbers and others exercise, they are actually
strengthening the muscles in hands and forearms, not fingers. The
average grip strength for men ages 20 to 75 is 104.3 pounds for the
right hand and 93.1 pounds for the left. Women averaged 62.8 pounds
and 53.9 pounds respectively.
Several studies have shown that it is easier to handle wet objects
when you have wrinkled fingers vs. smooth ones. Wrinkling skin in
water is caused by constriction of blood vessels. If you sever the
nerve to a specific part of your finger, that part will never again
wrinkle when wet. Now you have a handle on how fingers work.