Ring finger

Ring finger
The ring finger on this hand is extended (left hand).
Details
Artery	Proper palmar digital arteries, dorsal digital arteries
Vein	Palmar digital veins, dorsal digital veins
Nerve	Dorsal digital nerves of radial nerve, Dorsal digital nerves of ulnar nerve, Proper palmar digital nerves of median nerve
Identifiers
Latin	Digitus IV manus, digitus quartus manus, digitus annularis manus, digitus medicinalis
Dorlands /Elsevier	d_18/12296626
TA	A01.1.00.056
FMA	24948
Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]

The ring finger is the fourth proximal digit of the human hand, and the second most ulnar finger, located between the middle finger and the little finger. It is also called digitus medicinalis, the fourth finger, digitus annularis, digitus quartus, or digitus IV in anatomy. It may also be referred to as the third finger.^[1]

Etymology

According to László A. Magyar, the names of the ring finger in many languages reflect an ancient belief that it is a magical finger. It is named after magic or rings, or called nameless (for example, in Chinese: 无名指, unnamed finger).^[2] In Sanskrit and other languages like Finnish, the ring finger is called respectively "Anamika" and "Nimetön" ("nameless").

The wedding ring

Two left hands forming an outline of a heart shape. Both hands are wearing a wedding ring.

Before medical science discovered how the circulatory system functioned, people believed that a vein ran directly from the fourth finger on the left hand to the heart. Because of the hand-heart connection, they chose the descriptive name vena amoris, Latin for the vein of love, for this particular vein.

Based upon this name, their contemporaries, purported experts in the field of matrimonial etiquette, wrote that it would only be fitting that the wedding ring be worn on this finger. By wearing the ring on the fourth finger of the left hand, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other.

In Western cultures, a wedding ring is traditionally worn on the ring finger. This developed from the Roman "anulus pronubis" when the man gave a ring to the woman at the betrothal ceremony. Blessing the wedding ring and putting it on the bride's finger dates from the 11th century. In medieval Europe, the Christian wedding ceremony placed the ring in sequence on the thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers of the left hand. The ring was then left on the ring finger. In a few European countries, the ring is worn on the left hand prior to marriage, then transferred to the right during the ceremony.^[3] For example, a Greek Orthodox bride wears the ring on the left hand prior to the ceremony, then moves it to the right hand after the wedding. In England, the 1549 Prayer Book declared "the ring shall be placed on the left hand". By the 17th and 18th centuries the ring could be found on any finger after the ceremony — even on the thumb.

Left or right hand

In some Catholic and some Orthodox countries^[4] such as Austria, Bulgaria, Colombia, Denmark, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India (mostly for men), Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands [if not Catholic], Norway, Perú, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Ukraine, and Venezuela the wedding ring is worn on the ring finger of the right hand.

In other countries, such as Australia, Botswana, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, New Zealand, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA it is generally worn on the ring finger of the left hand. In Brazil, Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria, the ring is worn on the right hand until the actual wedding day, when it is exchanged to the left hand. In Croatia, wedding rings are commonly worn on either hand.

Several traditions exist in traditional Jewish wedding ceremonies: most commonly today, the ring is placed on the index finger; but other traditions record placing it on the middle finger or the thumb.^[5] Today the ring usually is moved to the ring finger after the ceremony. Some Jewish grooms have adopted wearing a wedding ring.

A wedding ring is not a traditional part of the religious Muslim wedding; wedding rings are not included in most Islamic countries. However, if a wedding ring is worn in an Islamic country, it may be worn on either the left (such is the custom in Iran) or the right ring finger. As opposed to the wedding ring, use of a ring to denote betrothal or engagement is quite prevalent in Muslim countries, especially those in West and South Asia. Muslim engagement rings (Men, Right finger) and (Women, Left finger).

Rings are not traditional in an Indian wedding. However, in modern society it is becoming a practice to wear rings for engagements and not for actual marriage. Though the left hand is considered inauspicious for religious activities, a ring (not to be called wedding ring) is still worn on the left hand. Men generally wear the rings on the right hand and the women on the left hands.

In Sinhala and Tamil culture, the groom wears the wedding ring on his right hand and bride wears it on her left hand ring finger. This can be seen in countries like Sri Lanka where there is a rich Sinhala and Tamil cultural influence in the society.^[6]

References

1. "Third finger". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
2. Magyar, László A. "Digitus Medicinalis — the Etymology of the Name" Actes du Congr. Intern. d'Hist. de Med. XXXII., Antwerpen. 175-179., 1990, retrieved September 2, 2009
3. Ring to Perfection
4. Why in the Orthodox tradition do we wear the wedding ring on the right hand?, antiochian.org
5. David Sperber, in: Daniel Sperber, Minhagei Yisrael Vol. 4, Jerusalem 1995, pp. 92-93 (Hebrew)
6. "A Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu Wedding" (PDF).

External links

• Online Ring Sizer
• Archive of a 1998 article in a Flemish newspaper about the place of the wedding ring in the Low Countries