What is the hand. 1. the carpus?

What it is

• The skeleton of the hand is subdivided into three segments: the carpus or wrist bones; the metacarpus or bones of the palm; and the phalanges or bones of the digits. The Carpus (Ossa Carpi) The carpal bones, eight in number, are arranged in two rows. Those of the proximal row, from the radial to the ulnar side, are named the navicular, lunate, triangular, and pisiform; those of the distal row, in the same order, are named the greater multangular, lesser multangular, capitate, and hamate.
• Common Characteristics of the Carpal Bones. —Each bone (excepting the pisiform) presents six surfaces. Of these the volar or anterior and the dorsal or posterior surfaces are rough, for ligamentous attachment; the dorsal surfaces being the broader, except in the navicular and lunate.
• The superior or proximal, and inferior or distal surfaces are articular, the superior generally convex, the inferior concave; the medial and lateral surfaces are also articular where they are in contact with contiguous bones, otherwise they are rough and tuberculated. The structure in all is similar, viz., cancellous tissue enclosed in a layer of compact bone.