metacarpus

[ met-uh-kahr-puhs ]
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noun,plural met·a·car·pi [met-uh-kahr-pahy]. /ˌmɛt əˈkɑr paɪ/. Anatomy.
  1. the part of a hand or forelimb, especially of its bony structure, included between the wrist, or carpus, and the fingers, or phalanges.

Origin of metacarpus

1
1670–80; <New Latin (see meta-, carpus), replacing metacarpium<Greek metakárpion

Words Nearby metacarpus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use metacarpus in a sentence

  • The four bones of the wing finger measure, from the point where the first bone bends upon the metacarpus, less than 18 inches.

    Dragons of the Air | H. G. Seeley
  • The chief point of variation from the Pterodactyle wing is in the relative length of the metacarpus in Dimorphodon.

    Dragons of the Air | H. G. Seeley
  • The whole finger is preserved in other specimens straightened out so as to be in line with the metacarpus.

    Dragons of the Air | H. G. Seeley
  • The manner in which the third (large) metacarpus is fractured, largely determines the outcome in any given case.

    Lameness of the Horse | John Victor Lacroix
  • In simple fracture, the metacarpus is covered with enough cotton to pad the parts, and this is retained in position by bandages.

    Lameness of the Horse | John Victor Lacroix

British Dictionary definitions for metacarpus

metacarpus

/ (ˌmɛtəˈkɑːpəs) /


nounplural -pi (-paɪ)
  1. the skeleton of the hand between the wrist and the fingers, consisting of five long bones

  2. the corresponding bones in other vertebrates

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012