Metacarpals

Looks like

Five long bones in the palm, each leading to a finger, the knuckles being their heads.

What it does

Give the palm its shape and let it cup and grip.

Keeping it well

Do not punch hard things; the little-finger one breaks so often it is called a boxer's fracture.

Related conditions

• Acromegaly
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• De Quervain's tenosynovitis
• Dupuytren's contracture & trigger finger
• Fractures
• Fragility fracture
• Frailty & falls in older age
• Ganglion cyst
• Hyperparathyroidism
• Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
• Osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease)
• Osteomalacia & rickets
• Osteomyelitis (bone infection)
• Osteoporosis
• Paget's disease of bone
• Pseudogout (calcium pyrophosphate disease)
• Raynaud's phenomenon
• Repetitive strain & overuse injury
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Sarcoma
• Vitamin B1, C and other deficiencies
• Vitamin D deficiency