[RS]

"Point #2: I find it extremely unlikely that a forger in the Middle Ages would have known such minute detail about human anatomy that he would have been able to replicate the results of this reflexive action."

Does this reflex keep those thumbs pinned AFTER the nails have been removed and AFTER the person has died and his body been washed ?

[Alberta's Child]

Does this reflex keep those thumbs pinned AFTER the nails have been removed and AFTER the person has died and his body been washed?

I would think so. The reflex is the result of a complete severing of the nerve in question, and since there is no indication that any of the twelve apostles was proficient in orthopedic microsurgery I would think there was no way to "fix" the underlying problem before burial.

[Swordmaker]

Does this reflex keep those thumbs pinned AFTER the nails have been removed and AFTER the person has died and his body been washed ?

No, but Rigor Mortis does. However, under enhancement, the thumbs of the man on the Shroud ARE just barely visible and actually are in the natural position that thumbs fall into at rest. Hold your hand out and notice that the thumb is actually about 1-2 inches BELOW the back of the hand. The image on the shroud does not show anything of the body that was more than about 3 centimeters from the cloth... The closer to the cloth, the denser the image, and conversely, the farther away from the cloth the more diffuse the image.

One other item. The body was not washed.