Carpal bones (from within the cartilage) and the ossific centers appear only after birth. The formation of these centers roughly follows a chronological spiral pattern starting in the capitate and hamate during the first year of life. The ulnar bones are then ossified before the radial bones, while the sesamoid pisiform arises in the tendon of the flexor carpi ulnaris after more than ten years. There are four groups of ligaments in the region of the wrist: The hand is said to be in straight position when the third finger runs over the capitate bone and is in a straight line with
Hamate bone of the hand. The ossification of the hamate starts between 1 and 12 months. The hamate does not fully ossify until about the 15th year of life. The bone is also found in many other mammals, and is homologous with the "fourth distal carpal" of reptiles and amphibians. The carpal bones function as a unit to provide a bony superstructure for the hand. The hamate bone is the bone most commonly fractured when a golfer hits the ground hard with a golf club on the downswing or a hockey player hits the ice with a slap shot. The fracture is