The name of the set of bones located in the palm of the hand, between the wrist and the fingers, is the metacarpal bones or metacarpus. They are also commonly referred to as the palm bones.
The metacarpal bones form the intermediate part of the hand, articulating proximally with the carpal bones (wrist bones) and distally with the phalanges (finger bones). There are five metacarpal bones in each hand, numbered I-V, starting with the thumb. Each metacarpal bone consists of a base, shaft, and head.
- The base articulates with the carpal bones at the wrist.
- The shaft is the main body of the bone.
- The head articulates with the proximal phalanx of the corresponding finger.
In summary, while individual bones are named "metacarpal bones", the whole set can be called the "metacarpus" or "palm bones".
