One of the bones that make up the fingers of the hand and the toes of the foot (which project off the hand and foot in lines resembling a linear array that could be likened to the array of a military unit made up of lines of soldiers). There are 56 phalanges in the human body, with fourteen on each hand and foot. Three phalanges are present on each finger and toe, with the exception of the thumb and big toe, which possess only two.