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Hamate bone
*** Shopping-Tip: Hamate bone
Image:Gray228.png thumb|400px|The left hamate bone
The '''hamate bone''' (''os hamatum''; unciform bone) is a
bone in the
human hand that may be readily distinguished by its wedge-shaped form, and the hook-like process which projects from its
volar surface. It is situated at the
medial and lower angle of the
carpus, with its base downward, resting on the fourth and fifth
metacarpal bones, and its apex directed upward and lateralward.
Surfaces
The ''superior surface'', the apex of the wedge, is narrow, convex, smooth, and articulates with the
lunate.
The ''inferior surface'' articulates with the fourth and fifth
metacarpal bones, by concave facets which are separated by a ridge.
The ''dorsal surface'' is triangular and rough for ligamentous attachment.
The ''
volar surface'' presents, at its lower and ulnar side, a curved, hook-like process, the
hamulus, directed forward and lateralward. This process gives attachment, by its apex, to the transverse carpal ligament and the
Flexor carpi ulnaris; by its medial surface to the
Flexor brevis and
Opponens digiti quinti; its lateral side is grooved for the passage of the
Flexor tendons into the palm of the hand. It is one of the four eminences on the front of the
carpus to which the
transverse carpal ligament of the wrist is attached; the others being the
pisiform medially, the
oblique ridge of the greater multangular and the tubercle of the navicular laterally.
The ''medial surface'' articulates with the
triangular bone by an oblong facet, cut obliquely from above, downward and medialward.
The ''lateral surface'' articulates with the
capitate by its upper and posterior part, the remaining portion being rough, for the attachment of ligaments.
Articulations
The hamate articulates with five bones: the
lunate proximally, the fourth and fifth
metacarpals distally, the
triangular medially, the
capitate laterally.
Clinical significance
This is the bone most commonly
fracture (bone) fractured when an amateur
golfer hits the ground hard with his/her
golf club (equipment) golf club on his/her downswing. The fracture is usually a
hairline fracture, commonly missed on normal
X-Rays. Symptoms are pain aggravated by gripping, tenderness over the hamate and symptoms of irritation of the
ulnar nerve.
See also
*
Bone#Terminology Bone terminology
*
Terms for anatomical location
Category:Skeletal system
''This article is based on an entry from the 1918 edition of
Gray's Anatomy, which is in the
public domain. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.''
{{Template:HumanBones}}
fr:Hamatum
sk:Háková kosť
*** Shopping-Tip: Hamate bone
