Ambidexterity
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
Ambidexterity is the equal development and use of both hands, contrasting with the typical dominance of the right hand and left brain hemisphere. This 1930s encyclopedia article notes that ambidexterity is observed in a small percentage of individuals, as well as among primitive peoples, children, and animals, suggesting a lower degree of functional hemispheric differentiation.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
AMBIDEXTERITY (from the Latin ambo - both and dexter - right), double-right-handedness. While in the vast majority of people the right hand and, consequently, the left hemisphere of the brain are more developed than the opposite ones, there is a small percentage of left-handed people with greater development of the left hand and an even smaller percentage of people with equal development of both hands—ambidexterity. There are indications that at a lower stage of development, hemispheric differentiation has not yet occurred, for example, in primitive peoples, children, and animals.
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Cite this page
“Ambidexterity.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/ambidexterity/