Bones

Bones of the human hand

Hand-bone animation (metacarpal movement is exaggerated, other than on the thumb)

Image showing the carpal bones

The skeleton of the human hand consists of 27 bones:[10] the eight short carpal bones of the wrist are

organized into a proximal row (scaphoid, lunate, triquetral and pisiform) which articulates with the
bones of the forearm, and a distal row (trapezium, trapezoid, capitate and hamate), which articulates
with the bases of the five metacarpal bones of the hand. The heads of the metacarpals will each in
turn articulate with the bases of the proximal phalanx of the fingers and thumb. These articulations
with the fingers are the metacarpophalangeal joints known as the knuckles. At the palmar aspect of
the first metacarpophalangeal joints are small, almost spherical bones called the sesamoid bones.
The fourteen phalanges make up the fingers and thumb, and are numbered I-V (thumb to little
finger) when the hand is viewed from an anatomical position (palm up). The four fingers each consist
of three phalanx bones: proximal, middle, and distal. The thumb only consists of a proximal and
distal phalanx.[11] Together with the phalanges of the fingers and thumb these metacarpal bones form
five rays or poly-articulated chains.
Because supination and pronation (rotation about the axis of the forearm) are added to the two axes
of movements of the wrist, the ulna and radius are sometimes considered part of the skeleton of the
hand.
There are numerous sesamoid bones in the hand, small ossified nodes embedded in tendons; the
exact number varies between people: [7] whereas a pair of sesamoid bones are found at virtually all
thumb metacarpophalangeal joints, sesamoid bones are also common at the interphalangeal joint of
the thumb (72.9%) and at the metacarpophalangeal joints of the little finger (82.5%) and the index
finger (48%). In rare cases, sesamoid bones have been found in all the metacarpophalangeal joints
and all distal interphalangeal joints except that of the long finger.
The articulations are:

 interphalangeal articulations of hand (the hinge joints between the bones of the digits)

 metacarpophalangeal joints (where the digits meet the palm)
 intercarpal articulations (where the palm meets the wrist)
 wrist (may also be viewed as belonging to the forearm).