Metacarpal bones Greek form μετακάρπιος. "Metacarpalis", as in "ossa metacarpalia" in the current official Latin nomenclature, "Terminologia Anatomica" is a compound consisting of Latin and Greek parts. The usage of such hybrids in anatomic Latin is disapproved by some. Metacarpal bones In human anatomy, the metacarpal bones or metacarpus, form the intermediate part of the skeletal hand located between the phalanges of the fingers and the carpal bones of the wrist which forms the connection to the forearm. The metacarpal bones are equivalent to the metatarsal bones in the foot. The metacarpals form a transverse arch to which the rigid row of
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