Hamate bone Wrist". The calcification of the unciform bone is seen on X-rays during puberty and is sometimes used in orthodontics to determine if an adolescent patient is suitable for orthognathic intervention (i.e. before or at their growth spurt). The etymology derives from the Latin "hamatus" "hooked," from "hamus" which means "hook". Hamate bone The hamate bone or unciform bone (from Latin "uncus", "hook") is a bone in the human wrist readily distinguishable by its wedge shape and a hook-like process ("hamulus") projecting from its palmar surface. The hamate is an irregularly shaped carpal bone found within the hand. The hamate is
Carpal bones 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: cancellous tissue enclosed in a layer of compact bone. Occasionally accessory bones are found in the carpus, but of more than 20 such described bones, only four (the central, styloid, secondary trapezoid, and secondary pisiform bones) are considered to be proven accessory bones. Sometimes the scaphoid, triquetrum, and pisiform bones are divided into two. The carpal bones are ossified endochondrally