upper limbs

• Upper limb divisions


  • Hand and wrist
  • Forearm
  • Humerus (arm)
  • Shoulder girdle
• Hand and wrist bones

  • Phalanges (fingers; thumb) 14
  • Metacarpals (palm) 5
  • Carpals (wrist) 8
  • Total 27
• Phalanges


  Finger and thumb digits
• Phalanges


  • Each four fingers are composed of 3 phalanges (proximal, middle, distal)
  • The thumb has 2 phalanges (proximal, distal)
• Metacarpals


  • Head - rounded portion
  • Body (shaft) - long curved portion
  • Base - expanded proximal end
• Joints of the hand

  • Thumb (first digit) interphalangeal (IP) joint
  • First metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint
  • Fingers (second through fifth digits) distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint, proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint, metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint
  • Metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints
  • Carpometacarpal (CMC) joints
• Carpometacarpal (CMC) joints


  • First MC with trapezium
  • Second MC with trapezoid
  • Third MC with capitate
  • Fourth and fifth MC with hamate
• Carpal bones - proximal row


  • Scaphoid (navicular)
  • Lunate
  • Triquetrum
  • Pisiform
• Carpal bones - distal row

  • Trapezium
  • Trapezoid
  • Capitate
  • Hamate
• Radius and ulna


  • Articulate at proximal radioulnar joint and distal radioulnar joint
  • Radius is shorter, directly involved in wrist joint
  • Ulna is longer, primarily involved in elbow joint
• Radius and ulna features

  • Styloid process
  • Ulnar notch
  • Head of ulna
  • Head of radius
  • Body (shaft)
  • Radial tuberosity
• Proximal ulna


  • Olecranon and coronoid processes
  • Coronoid tubercle
  • Trochlear notch
  • Radial notch
• Distal humerus


  • Body (shaft)
  • Humeral condyle
  • Trochlea
  • Trochlear sulcus
  • Capitulum
  • Lateral epicondyle
  • Medial epicondyle
  • Anterior depression (coronoid fossa and radial fossa)
  • Posterior depression (olecranon fossa)
• Soft tissue detail as depicted by specific fat pads located within the deep olecranon fossa is important in trauma diagnosis of the elbow joint
• True lateral elbow

  • Trochlear sulcus
  • Capitulum & trochlea
  • Trochlear notch of the ulna
• Synovial (freely movable) or diarthrodial joints


  Classification of all upper limb joints
• Interphalangeal joints


  • All IP joints are ginglymus (hinge-type); they only move in "flexion and extension"
• Metacarpophalangeal joints


  • 2nd to 5th MCP joints are ellipsoidal (condyloid)-type; allow movement in four directions—flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction
  • Circumduction - conelike sequential movement
• Carpometacarpal joints

  • First CMC joint of the thumb is a sellar (saddle)-type; allows a great range of movement—flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, circumduction, opposition
  • 2nd through 5th CMC joints are plane (gliding)-type
• Intercarpal joints

  • Only a plane (gliding) movement
• Wrist joint

  • Ellipsoidal (condyloid)-type; the most freely movable, or diarthrodial, of the synovial classification
  • Only the radius articulates directly with two carpal bones—scaphoid and lunate; this is called the radiocarpal joint
  • Triquetral bone is part of the total wrist articulation, including a joint between the distal radius and ulna of the forearm—the distal radioulnar joint
• Wrist ligaments

  • Ulnar collateral ligament
  • Radial collateral ligament
• Elbow joint

  • Synovial classification and is freely movable, or diarthrodial; ginglymus (hinge)-type joint with flexion and extension movements between the humerus and the ulna and radius
  • Proximal radioulnar joint is trochoidal or pivot-type