Capitate at a glance
- What it is
- The largest carpal bone, with a rounded head.
- Location
- Lies at the centre of the wrist in the distal row, articulating with the scaphoid, lunate, trapezoid and hamate, and with the bases of the second, third and fourth metacarpals (mainly the third).
- Function
- Gives stability to the central wrist and carries load from the middle finger.
- Body system
- Skeletal · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA24447 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Its head fits into a cup formed by the scaphoid and lunate.
- It is the first carpal bone to ossify, within the first few months after birth.
- It sits in line with the third metacarpal and acts as the keystone of the carpus.
Clinical relevance
Isolated fractures are uncommon because it is well protected; it can fracture together with the scaphoid (scaphocapitate syndrome).
Structures next to the capitate
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Deep palmar arch · cardiovascular
- Dorsal carpal branch of ulnar artery · cardiovascular
- Scaphoid · skeletal
- Trapezoid · skeletal
- Superficial palmar arterial arch · cardiovascular
- Hamate · skeletal
- Dorsal carpal branch of radial artery · cardiovascular
- Lunate · skeletal
- Trapezium · skeletal
- Triquetral · skeletal
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Capitate (FMA24447). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §7.1 Divisions of the Skeletal System. Rice University, 2022.
- Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.
Related anatomy
Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.