Arm Vs Forearm, What Part Of Your Hand Are These?

Do you remember what you learned the last time you had an anatomy class? Thankfully, today the internet exists to answer all the inquiries you may have about this topic. In this article, we will review how we can differ between arm and forearm and what part of your hand these come from.

It is a pretty simple answer. The arm combines the upper arm and forearm, while the forearm is just part of the arm. Specifically, the front and lower parts of your arm that are in between the elbow and the wrist.

In order to fully understand both of these body parts and its functions, it is necessary to review the meaning of it.

Definition

In human anatomy, the arm is the upper limb located between the glenohumeral joint, which is the shoulder joint, and elbow joint. It can also be divided into the upper arm (from shoulder to elbow) , and forearm (from elbow to hand). For regular usage, the arm’s function is to reach out, grab things that may be helpful, and so on. It also transmits the movements of the hands and it allows arm extensions and bending.

On the other hand, the forearm is the lower part of the arm between the wrist and elbow, which is the middle of the arm where it bends. It comprises the lower half of the arm, and it is made of two bones: the ulna and radius. These bones form the rotational joint that allows the forearm to turn all the way so the palm can face up or down, thanks to the flexors and extensors. The forearm is covered by skin and contains many muscles that help with its correct functioning such as moving the elbow, wrist, and fingers of the hand.

Usage Of The Term

The word “forearm” is used in anatomy to differentiate from the arm, a term most commonly used to describe the whole appendix of the upper limbs. It explains that the “arm” is the region of the upper arm, while the lower “arm” means forearm.

Regarding the term “arm”, it is used to explain the two upper limbs on the human body from an anatomical perspective, including its muscles, bones, nerve supply, blood supply, and veins.

This is why learning the usage and the differences between the two is helpful to distinguish one from another since both terms are alike.

Critical differences and similarities

Human anatomy as a study of itself is a complex field with around 206 bones, many nerves, and various systems like the nervous system and digestive system, to name a few. They are part of the human body, just like the arm and forearm.

The critical differences between the two rely on their composition and function. For example, the arm is made up of the upper arm and forearm that extends from the shoulder to the wrist, while on the other hand, the forearm starts from the wrist to the elbow. It contains many muscles that help you perform several movements, rotations, and tasks.

Just like these terms are different, there are also inevitable similarities to point out, because the forearm is part of the arm, it is related to its composition. The arm, in simple words, is the larger upper extremity. On the contrary, the forearm is the lower part or sub-part of the arm. Both of them conform to what we know as the arm, but it is divided into three parts: the arm, the forearm, and the hand.

Anatomy

Arm anatomy

Studying the arm itself can be confusing sometimes. Interestingly, these body parts consist of various nerves, muscles, arteries, and veins. Regarding the arm, this one is divided into two major components called “anterior” and “posterior.

The anterior compartment contains flexor muscles which help with the bending of joints like the knee, and in this case, the elbow and wrist. Also, there’s the brachial artery, basilic vein, and several nerves such as ulnar, median, and musculocutaneous.

On the other half, the posterior compartment is conformed to triceps muscles, which contributes to the extension of the elbow joint. Additionally, there’s the radial nerve, profunda brachii artery, superior ulnar collateral artery, and posterior branch of inferior ulnar collateral.

Forearm Anatomy

Like the arm, the forearm has two compartments: the flexors (anterior) and extensors (posterior), which combined make up twenty muscles. These muscles of the antebrachium contribute to the movement of the elbow, wrist, forearm, and the digits of the hand.

These fall into two main categories:

Intrinsic muscles: that helps with the movement of the forearm with the rotation of the radius and ulna.

Extrinsic muscles: which are in charge of the flex and extension of the digits of the hand.

Examples With Sentences

Now that we have completely understood the definition, key differences and similarities, as well as a simplified explanation from an anatomical perspective, we can now learn how to use them in sentences properly.

Here are some examples with the word “arm”:

1. When she touched her fiance’s arm, he noticed him wincing in pain due to the accident he had at work.
2. Carmen does a lot of arm exercises to develop strength, due to her competitive volleyball career.
3. His little sister holds onto his arm protectively so she wouldn’t get lost in the vast mall.
4. Arm pain is common in athletes.
5. She broke her arm when she went skiing on Christmas Eve in Colorado, and now she doesn’t want to try it again.
6. Everybody in the family hugged by placing their arms on each other’s shoulders for a cute picture.
7. He put an arm around her to help her feel better and less sad about losing her job.
8. The baby came running back to his mothers’ arms happily and shared an incredible loving moment.
9. The painters ended up with arm pain due to the hours of painting they did to the house.
10. When I used to study medicine, my favorite class was anatomy, especially when we view the components of the arm.

Now, some examples with the word “forearm”:

1. After she turned eighteen, she got a wolf tattoo on her forearm that she loves even until this day.
2. When hearing about her mom’s accident, she impulsively placed her forearm to cover her eyes and stop the tears from coming out.
3. He stopped her from falling by grabbing her by her forearm.
4. The child had to wear a cast on his forearm for two months until he could play soccer again.
5. His favorite exercise is the dumbbell forearm rolls, which he performs perfectly and helps others do at the gym.
6. Carl’s veins are showing off in his muscular forearm due to the years of workouts.
7. He had a cut on his forearm, so he put a bandage on top of it.
8. The kids were learning about arms, forearms, and hands in science class.
9. The forearms have many muscles that help with movement.
10.  Learning about the forearm anatomy was the least challenging.

Synonyms

• Arm: upper limb, forelimb, appendage, member, biceps, triceps, wing, branch, elbow, ulnar nerve, limb, human being physical structure, hand, forearm, etc.
• Forearm: radius, ulna, antebrachium, ulnar vein, radial vein, elbow bone, arm, etc.

Antonyms

• Arms: body, division, main, etc.
• Forearms: curve, unbind, etc.

Etymology

Arm: comes from Old English term “earm”, and also Proto-Germanic word “armaz”, which means “upper limb of the human body.”

Forearm: It emerges around 1747 from the combination of fore- (from Old and Middle English, which was used as a prefix which would mean “before in position” or front part of something) and also, the term “arm” which was explained earlier. Both combined make up “the front part of the arm”.

Conclusion

To sum up, we can conclude that “arm” and “forearm” are related to each other, and both are connected to the hand, especially the forearm.

In simple words, the arm is the upper limb located between the elbow and shoulder, while the forearm is connected to the wrist and elbow, which is the lower part of the arm near the hand.