Fifth metacarpal bone Fifth metacarpal bone The fifth metacarpal bone (metacarpal bone of the little finger or pinky finger) is the most medial and second-shortest of the metacarpal bones. It presents on its base one facet on its superior surface, which is concavo-convex and articulates with the hamate, and one on its radial side, which articulates with the fourth metacarpal. On its ulnar side is a prominent tubercle for the insertion of the tendon of the extensor carpi ulnaris muscle. The dorsal surface of the body is divided by an oblique ridge, which extends from near the ulnar side of the base to
Stapedius muscle nerve VII. Stapedius muscle The stapedius is the smallest skeletal muscle in the human body. At just over one millimeter in length, its purpose is to stabilize the smallest bone in the body, the stapes. The stapedius emerges from a pinpoint foramen in the apex of the pyramidal eminence (a hollow, cone-shaped prominence in the posterior wall of the tympanic cavity), and inserts into the neck of the stapes. The stapedius is supplied by the nerve to stapedius, a branch of the facial nerve. The stapedius dampens the vibrations of the stapes by pulling on the neck of that bone.