Editing Forelimb (section)

{{Short description|One of the paired articulated appendages attached on the cranial end of a vertebrate's torso}}
{{About||anatomical details of the human arm|Upper limb}}
[[File:Handskelett MK1888.png|right|thumb|350px|Forelimbs in [[mammal]]s have varying functions but are all [[Homology (biology)|homologous]].]]
A '''forelimb''' or '''front limb''' is one of the [[bilateral symmetry|paired]] [[joint|articulated]] [[appendage]]s ([[limb (anatomy)|limb]]s) attached on the [[cranial]] ([[anterior (anatomy)|anterior]]) end of a [[terrestrial animal|terrestrial]] [[tetrapod]] [[vertebrate]]'s [[torso]]. With reference to [[quadruped]]s, the term '''foreleg''' or '''front leg''' is often used instead. In [[bipedal]] animals with an [[upright]] posture (e.g. [[humans]] and some other [[primate]]s), the term ''[[upper limb]]'' is often used.

A forelimb is not to be confused with a [[forearm]], which is a distal portion of the human upper limb between the [[elbow]] and the [[wrist]].

All vertebrate forelimbs are [[Homology (biology)|homologous]], meaning that they all [[evolution (biology)|evolved]] from the same structures. For example, the [[flipper (anatomy)|flipper]] of a [[turtle]] or of a [[dolphin]], the arm of a human, the foreleg of a horse, and the [[Bird wing|wings]] of both bats and birds are ultimately homologous, despite the large differences between them.<ref>{{cite web
 | url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/45466/Homologies-of-the-forelimb-among-vertebrates-giving-evidence-for-evolution
 | title= Image Gallery: Homo Sapiens. homology: homologies of the forelimb among vertebrates
 | publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica | access-date= January 27, 2013
}}</ref>

Specific uses of the forelimbs may be analogous if they evolved from different sub-structures of the forelimb, such as the flippers of turtles and dolphins, and the wings of birds and bats.<ref name=":1" />