In the ancient Greek army a row of troops was called a phalanx. To later anatomists, the rows of bones of the fingers and toes were reminiscent of rows of troops; hence, the plural word, phalanges. The term has modern usages describing a massed group of people with a common purpose such as “the movie star’s exit from the theater was blocked by a phalanx of photographers”.
Anatomy word of the month: phalanges
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Dec 2, 2014 | Updated May 6, 2015