What are the wrist bones called?
The wrist bones is called the carpals. Gray's Anatomy (1918) describes it as a group of eight small bones arranged in two rows of four.
What it is
- A group of eight small bones arranged in two rows of four.
- Named (from thumb side) scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, pisiform in the proximal row; trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate in the distal row.
- Joined by short ligaments to form the wrist.
Where it is
- Between the forearm bones and the metacarpals of the hand.
- Form the roof and floor of the carpal tunnel.
- The scaphoid and lunate meet the radius at the wrist joint.
Source:
Last verified: 2026-07-18
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