 the thumb plates. The volar endorsal plates are ill-defined. They blend with a capsule, with flexors and extensors. Let's start out with the volar plate of the intervalangial joint. That's the easiest one to see. It looks like a fat squiggle. Now this one looks a little bit like a toad. There's the nose of the toad. There are the back legs of the toad. That is the plate. When you flex the thumb it becomes even more crinkled and even more mass-like. Some people say it looks like a triangular disc. Let's try looking at it in the short axis projection. It's a little hard to see but that's it right there, deep to the flexor policies longest. Let's see if we can spot it one more time here. There it is again. It's a difficult structure to identify but in the sagittal projection that's your best bet. The dorsal plate is almost impossible to separate out without a microscopy coil from the distal extensor mechanism. Now remember the extensor mechanism doesn't have a central tendon and lateral slips like the fingers do. So that's a little bit of a variation. Then we come back to the MCP where a combination of the extensor brevis and the plate form this condensed triangular structure and the anterior plate's a little hard to see. There's part of the anterior plate right there. This linear structure in front of the sesamoid. Remember the sesamoid is embedded in the capsule and sometimes inattended. So the plate's a little more challenging at the MCP. Here's the more proximal aspect of the plate and it's not uncommon to see a little bit of fluid in the anterior recess of the first MCP lying just deep to the plate and the sesamoid mechanism. The volar and dorsal plates will define merging with other structures perhaps best seen as a triangular shaped disc at the interphalangial joint.