The fourth metacarpal bone (metacarpal bone of the ring finger) is shorter and smaller than the third.
The base is small and quadrilateral; its superior surface presents two facets, a large one medially for articulation with the
hamate
The hamate bone (from Latin language, Latin wiktionary:hamatus, hamatus, "hooked"), or unciform bone (from Latin language, Latin ''wikt:uncus, uncus'', "hook"), Latin os hamatum and occasionally abbreviated as just hamatum, is a bone in the huma ...
, and a small one laterally for the
capitate.
On the radial side are two oval facets, for articulation with the
third metacarpal
The third metacarpal bone (metacarpal bone of the middle finger) is a little smaller than the second.
The dorsal aspect of its base presents on its radial side a pyramidal eminence, the Third metacarpal styloid process, styloid process, which ext ...
; and on the ulnar side a single concave facet, for the
fifth metacarpal.
Clinical relevance
A shortened fourth metacarpal bone can be a
symptom
Signs and symptoms are diagnostic indications of an illness, injury, or condition.
Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences.
A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature ...
of
Kallmann syndrome, a
genetic condition which results in the failure to commence or the non-completion of
puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a female, the testicles i ...
.
A short fourth metacarpal bone can also be found in
Turner syndrome
Turner syndrome (TS), commonly known as 45,X, or 45,X0,Also written as 45,XO. is a chromosomal disorder in which cells of females have only one X chromosome instead of two, or are partially missing an X chromosome (sex chromosome monosomy) lea ...
, a disorder involving sex chromosomes.
A
fracture
Fracture is the appearance of a crack or complete separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress (mechanics), stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacemen ...
of the fourth and/or
fifth metacarpal bone
The fifth metacarpal bone (metacarpal bone of the little finger or pinky finger) is the most medial and second-shortest of the metacarpal bones.
Surfaces
It presents on its base one facet on its superior surface, which is concavo-convex and artic ...
s transverse neck secondary due to axial loading is known as a
boxer's fracture.
[Shultz, S. J., Houglum, P. A., Perrin, D. H. (2010). Examination of Musculoskeletal Injuries. Chicago: Human Kinetics]
Ossification
The ossification process begins in the shaft during prenatal life, and in the head between 11th and 37th months.
Additional images
File:Fourth metacarpal bone (left hand) - animation01.gif, Fourth metacarpal bone of the left hand (shown in red). Animation.
File:Fourth metacarpal bone (left hand) - animation02.gif, Fourth metacarpal bone of the left hand. Close up.
File:Gray219 - Fourth metacarpal bone.png, Palmar view of the left hand (fourth metacarpal shown in yellow).
File:Gray220 - Fourth metacarpal bone.png, Dorsal view of the left hand (fourth metacarpal shown in yellow).
File:Neck Fracture of the Fourth Metacarpal Bone.png, A fractured right hand fourth metacarpal ( boxer's fracture).
See also
*
Metacarpus
In human anatomy, the metacarpal bones or metacarpus, also known as the "palm bones", are the appendicular skeleton, appendicular bones that form the intermediate part of the hand between the phalanges (fingers) and the carpal bones (wrist, wris ...
*
First metacarpal bone
The first metacarpal bone or the metacarpal bone of the thumb is the first bone proximal to the thumb. It is connected to the trapezium of the carpus at the first carpometacarpal joint and to the proximal thumb phalanx at the first metacarp ...
*
Second metacarpal bone
The second metacarpal bone (metacarpal bone of the index finger) is the longest, and its base the largest, of all the Metacarpus, metacarpal bones.''Gray's Anatomy'' (1918). See infobox.
Human anatomy
Its base is prolonged upward and medialwar ...
*
Third metacarpal bone
*
Fifth metacarpal bone
The fifth metacarpal bone (metacarpal bone of the little finger or pinky finger) is the most medial and second-shortest of the metacarpal bones.
Surfaces
It presents on its base one facet on its superior surface, which is concavo-convex and artic ...
References
Bones of the hand
Metacarpus
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