Is the Thumb a Finger?
4. Is the Big Toe a Thumb?
As we have evolved, our feet and hands have taken on very different roles. Our hands are used almost entirely for grasping, while our feet are used almost entirely as supports for our bodies when walking. With the feet not used for grasping, the big toe is not opposable. The question of whether or not the big toe is a thumb is not straightforward to answer.
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It is not a thumb because thumbs are found on our hands, although the big toe has the official anatomical name hallux and the thumb is named pollux. In some primates like the gibbon, you will find that they do have opposable big toes, and these help them to grasp onto branches when swinging through trees.
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