EMG of the interosseous and lumbrical muscles in the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) hand during locomotion.

The interosseous, lumbrical, and extensor digitorum communis muscles of the hunan hand constitute a complex apparatus that acts to move and stabilize the fingaers during grasping and manipulation. A telemetered electromyographic study of these muscles in chimpanzees was undertaken to determine whether use of the hand in locomotion and to maintain postures might be associated with functional roles different from those in humans. The manual interossei of chimpanzees are recruited in metacarpophalangeal flexion and in rapid interphalangeal joint extension. Slow digital extension can be accomplished solely by the extensor digitorum communis and lumbricals. The highly variable activity of the interossei during knuckle-walking is compatible with their roles as ab/adductors and rotators, but such movements could not be accurately assessed. It is concluded that the generalized suspensory and specialized terrestrial locomotion of the chimpanzee is not associated with major changes in the function of the manual interossei and lumbricals.