Scaphoid at a glance
- What it is
- The largest bone of the proximal carpal row, shaped like a boat.
- Location
- Lies on the thumb side of the wrist, articulating with the radius, lunate, capitate, trapezium and trapezoid.
- Function
- Links the proximal and distal carpal rows and transmits force from the hand to the forearm.
- Body system
- Skeletal · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA24436 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- It lies in the floor of the anatomical snuffbox, where tenderness suggests a fracture; its tubercle can be felt at the base of the thenar eminence.
- Its blood supply enters distally and flows backward (retrograde), so the proximal pole is vulnerable after a fracture.
Clinical relevance
It is the most commonly fractured carpal bone, often from a fall on an outstretched hand; non-union and avascular necrosis of the proximal pole can follow.
Structures next to the scaphoid
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Capitate · skeletal
- Trapezium · skeletal
- Trapezoid · skeletal
- Lunate · skeletal
- Dorsal carpal branch of radial artery · cardiovascular
- Dorsal carpal branch of ulnar artery · cardiovascular
- Superficial palmar arterial arch · cardiovascular
- Deep palmar arch · cardiovascular
- Hamate · skeletal
- Extensor pollicis brevis · muscular
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Scaphoid (FMA24436). 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.