metacarpus

American  

[met-uh-kahr-puhs] / ˌmɛt əˈkɑr pəs /

noun

Anatomy.

plural

metacarpi

1. the part of a hand or forelimb, especially of its bony structure, included between the wrist, or carpus, and the fingers, or phalanges.

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metacarpus British  

/ ˌmɛtəˈkɑːpəs /

noun

1. the skeleton of the hand between the wrist and the fingers, consisting of five long bones

2. the corresponding bones in other vertebrates

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Etymology

Origin of metacarpus

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

Example Sentences

This condition is well seen in Professor Marsh's specimen of Rhamphorhynchus, which has the wing membrane preserved, in which all bones of the fore-arm metacarpus and wing finger are extended in a continuous curve.

From Dragons of the Air An Account of Extinct Flying Reptiles by Seeley, H. G.

It presents, on its external surface, a groove for the passage of the tendon of the posterior ulnar muscle, which is named by veterinary anatomists the external flexor of the metacarpus.

From Artistic Anatomy of Animals by Cuyer, ?douard

These three portions are the homologues of the carpus, the metacarpus, and the fingers, which, as we have already seen in the case of the hand, are the osseous groups which form its skeleton.

From Artistic Anatomy of Animals by Cuyer, ?douard

The chief point of variation from the Pterodactyle wing is in the relative length of the metacarpus in Dimorphodon.

From Dragons of the Air An Account of Extinct Flying Reptiles by Seeley, H. G.

B. The two radials blended superiorly, distinct inferiorly; this is the anterior extensor of the metacarpus.

From Artistic Anatomy of Animals by Cuyer, ?douard

Related Words

• appendage
• fist
• grip
• palm