The hand is used to discriminate between objects on the basis of touch. The pads on the palmar aspect of the fingers contain a high density of somatic sensory receptors. Also, the sensory cortex of the brain devoted to interpreting information from the hand, particularly from the thumb, is disproportionately large relative to that for many other regions of skin.
The bones of the shoulder consist of the scapula, clavicle, and proximal end of the humerus (Fig. 7.7).