The bones in your wrist are called carpal bones. There are eight of these small bones arranged in two rows: a proximal row and a distal row. They connect the forearm bones (radius and ulna) to the metacarpal bones of your hand.
Understanding the Carpal Bones
- The carpal bones are crucial for wrist movement and flexibility.
- They contribute to the complex mechanics of the hand, allowing for a wide range of actions.
- Individual carpal bones have specific names, including the scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, pisiform, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, and hamate. (See Image: Normal Posteroanterior Radiograph of the Wrist Joint - Note: This image is not provided here but would typically be included in a comprehensive answer).
Importance of Carpal Bones
The carpal bones play a vital role in:
- Connecting the forearm and hand: They act as a bridge between the larger bones of the forearm and the smaller bones of the hand.
- Providing wrist mobility: Their arrangement allows for a wide range of motion, including flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, and circumduction.
- Supporting the hand: They provide a stable base for the hand, enabling grip and manipulation of objects.
Examples of conditions impacting carpal bones include fractures (like scaphoid fractures, commonly caused by falls on an outstretched hand), osteoarthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome.
References:
- Mayo Clinic: Your wrist is made up of eight small bones (carpal bones) plus two long bones in your forearm — the radius and the ulna. https://www.mayoclinic.org/bones-of-the-wrist-and-hand/img-20006951
- NCBI: The carpal bones are bones of the wrist that connect the distal aspects of the radial and ulnar bones of the forearm to the bases of the 5 metacarpal bones... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK535382/
- Johns Hopkins Medicine: Each of your hands has three types of bones: phalanges in your fingers; metacarpals in your mid-hand, and carpals in your wrist. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/anatomy-of-the-hand
