Ligament · Hand

Phalangoglenoid ligaments

Short fibrous bands that tie the side of a finger bone to the palmar plate — the tough fibrocartilage pad that floors a finger joint on the palm side, called the glenoid ligament in older texts, which is where the awkward name comes from. Each band leaves the palmar and lateral border of the phalanx and spreads onto the margin of that plate, blending there with the accessory fibres of the collateral ligaments. Their work is to hold the plate applied to the joint so it folds tidily out of the way as the finger bends, rather than being dragged off to one side. They matter because a finger joint's stability rests as much on the palmar plate and its anchors as on the collateral ligaments most people name first.