Radius

Looks like

The forearm bone on the thumb side, narrow at the elbow and wide at the wrist.

What it does

Rolls over the ulna to turn the palm down and up, and carries most of the wrist joint.

Keeping it well

Its lower end is the most commonly broken bone in adults, usually a fall on the hand. A wrist fracture after a minor fall is a reason to test for osteoporosis.

Its parts

• Radial styloid process
• Right radius
• Left radius

Related conditions

• Acromegaly
• Compartment syndrome
• De Quervain's tenosynovitis
• Fractures
• Fragility fracture
• Frailty & falls in older age
• Hyperparathyroidism
• Lymphangitis
• Osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease)
• Osteomalacia & rickets
• Osteomyelitis (bone infection)
• Osteoporosis
• Paget's disease of bone
• Sarcoma
• Vitamin B1, C and other deficiencies
• Vitamin D deficiency