ACCT 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Palmar Aponeurosis, Thenar Eminence, Metacarpophalangeal Joint
ANATOMY OF
THE HAND
Michael R. Britton
© 2012 All rights reserved.
THE HAND
Complex and designed for both brute force and incredible delicacies of touch the hand is a subject of
study in itself, like the portrait and its corresponding anatomies. The hand is primarily a surface form of
bone and tendons, the mass of its musculature is in the palm.
To begin the study of the hand it is well advised to rst considers its mass conception of simplied form.
The hand is always drawn out from the forearm into the wrist which is the Carpus. From the carpus
is the trapezoidal form of the Metacarpus. From the back of the hand, the dorsal aspect (or view) the
metacarpus is convex; from the palmar aspect the metacarpus is concave.
The eshy ball of the thumb (palmar aspect) is the Thenar Eminence; the ‘striking’ side of the hand is
the Hyperthenar Eminence. These eminences are shaped by muscles that will be discussed at length
later. The triangular sheet of tendinous bers in the palm is the Palmar Aponeurosis – this form is
subtly indicated when the hand is stretched out and exed.
Back of Hand
(Dorsal Aspect)
Palm of Hand
(Palmar Aspect)
Side of Hand
(Lateral Aspect)
Metacarpus
Thenar eminence
Hyperthenar eminence
Carpus
Palmar aponeurosis
Back of Hand
(Dorsal Aspect)
Palm of Hand
(Palmar Aspect)
Side of Hand
(Lateral Aspect)
Scaphoid Lunate
Pisiform
Triquetral
The Carpus – proximal row
The Wrist (Carpus)
Articulating to the radius and ulna are the eight, various and irregularly shaped, bones of the carpus.
These eight bones of the wrist are arranged in two rows: the Proximal and the Distal. In the proximal
row, with is the row articulating directly into the radius and ulna, is the Scaphoid, Lunate, Triquetral
and the Pisiform. The four bones in the distal row are the Trapezium, Trapezoid, Capitate and the
Hamate.
Overall the carpus is curved – its dorsal aspect is convex, the palmar concave. On the dorsal, or back
of the carpus is a depression, towards the radial side of the wrist, between the two rows of carpal
bones that is visible when the wrist is exed. On the palmar side the carpus has two signicant bony
landmarks: the pisiform on the ulnar side at the base of the hyperthenar eminence, and the tubercles of
the trapezium and scaphoid on the radial side at the base of the thenar eminence. Again, these bony
projections are most visible when the wrist is exed.
Back of Hand
(Dorsal Aspect)
Palm of Hand
(Palmar Aspect)
Side of Hand
(Lateral Aspect)
The Metacarpus
The Metacarpus
The body of the hand is the Metacarpus which is comprised of the ve metacarpal bones. Each meta-
carpal has articular facets tting into the distal row of the carpus at its base, or superior extremity. The
head of each metacarpal is rounded and articulates with the ngers, which are the phalanges, thus
forming the primary knuckles.
Back of Hand
(Dorsal Aspect)
Palm of Hand
(Palmar Aspect)
Side of Hand
(Lateral Aspect)
Hamate
The Carpus – distal row
Capitate
Trapezoid
Trapezium
Pisiform
