All corrections
Wikipedia May 16, 2026 at 11:14 AM

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb

3 corrections found

1
Claim
The wukongopterid pterosaur Kunpengopterus bore an opposable first toe on each wing.
Correction

This misidentifies the digit. Kunpengopterus was reported with an opposed pollex (thumb) on both hands, not an opposable toe on each wing.

Full reasoning

The sentence confuses a thumb/finger with a toe.

The discovery announcement for Kunpengopterus antipollicatus describes the fossil as preserved with an "opposed pollex ('thumb') on both hands" and calls it "the first discovery of a pterosaur with an opposed thumb."

So the article's wording "opposable first toe on each wing" is incorrect. The feature reported for Kunpengopterus was an opposed thumb/pollex on the forelimbs, not a toe.

1 source
2
Claim
The radial artery can be palpated anteriorly at the wrist (not in the snuffbox).
Correction

The parenthetical is wrong: the radial artery is also palpable in the anatomical snuffbox. Standard clinical anatomy sources explicitly identify the snuffbox as a radial pulse site.

Full reasoning

The sentence is incorrect because it says the radial artery is "not in the snuffbox." In standard anatomy, the radial artery passes through the anatomical snuffbox and its pulse can be palpated there.

Evidence:

  • NCBI StatPearls on the radial artery says the vessel "courses between the extensor pollicis longus and brevis in the anatomic snuffbox" and that "The artery's pulsations may also be appreciated in the anatomical snuffbox."
  • NCBI StatPearls on the anatomical snuffbox lists the radial artery among the structures contained within that region.

So while the radial artery is commonly palpated at the anterior wrist, it is incorrect to add that it is not in the snuffbox.

2 sources
3
Claim
The first dorsal interosseous, one of the central muscles of the hand, extends from the base of the thumb metacarpal to the radial side of the proximal phalanx of the index finger.
Correction

This oversimplifies the first dorsal interosseous muscle's origin. Standard anatomy references say it arises from the adjacent surfaces of the first and second metacarpals, not just from the base of the thumb metacarpal.

Full reasoning

The article gives an incorrect origin for the first dorsal interosseous muscle.

Authoritative anatomy references describe this muscle as arising from the adjacent surfaces of the 1st and 2nd metacarpals:

  • NCBI StatPearls: "The 1st dorsal interosseous muscle originates from the adjacent surfaces of the 1st and 2nd metacarpals".
  • Elsevier Complete Anatomy: origin is the medial aspect of the body of the first metacarpal bone and lateral aspect of the body of the second metacarpal bone.

So the article's wording — that it extends only "from the base of the thumb metacarpal" — is anatomically inaccurate because it omits the second metacarpal and misstates the origin site as the base rather than the adjacent metacarpal shafts/surfaces.

2 sources
Model: OPENAI_GPT_5 Prompt: v1.16.0