Universe of finger postures and finger dynamography. A conceptual methodological tool for assessing and recording the motor capacity of the finger.

The sum total of all postures actively possible at a joint constitutes its "universe of postures". This universe can be identified by its limits. The universe of a biarticular system like the finger can be mapped out visually, by identifying the limiting postures, plotting them as points in a graph sheet in which the postures of the MP joint are represented in the horizontal axis and the postures of the PIP joint are represented in the vertical axis, and connecting the points serially. The closed figure thus obtained represents the universe of postures of the finger and shows at a glance the motor deficits of the finger as a whole. It also remains as an objective record of the universe, available for comparison after treatment. This method of evaluation of the finger has been found to be particularly useful in assessing fingers with paralytic problems. Such a visual representation of the universe, called "dynamogram" here, can also be used for kinesiological studies.