Intermetacarpal joints
Articulationes intermetacarpeae
- Latin synonym: Articulationes intermetacarpales
Definition
The bases of the second, third, fourth and fifth metacarpal bones articulate with one another by small surfaces covered with cartilage, and are connected together by dorsal, volar, and interosseous ligaments : the intermetacarpal joints.
The dorsal (ligamenta basium oss. metacarp. dorsalia) and volar ligaments (ligamenta basium oss. metacarp. volaria; palmar ligaments) pass transversely from one bone to another on the dorsal and volar surfaces. The interosseous ligaments (ligamenta basium oss. metacarp. interossea) connect their contiguous surfaces, just distal to their collateral articular facets.
The synovial membrane for these joints is continuous with that of the carpometacarpal articulations.
References
This definition incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy (20th U.S. edition of Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, published in 1918 – from http://www.bartleby.com/107/).
