Second metacarpal bone at a glance
- Also called
- second metacarpal
- What it is
- The index finger metacarpal, usually the longest. One of the five long bones of the palm.
- Location
- Lies between the carpal bones of the wrist and the proximal phalanx of its finger, with a base proximally and a rounded head forming the knuckle.
- Function
- Forms the framework of the palm and transmits forces from the fingers to the wrist.
- Body system
- Skeletal · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA24467 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Its base articulates with the trapezium, trapezoid and capitate; extensor carpi radialis longus inserts there.
- Flexor carpi radialis inserts on the palmar side of its base, and the first dorsal interosseous arises partly from its shaft.
- The second and third carpometacarpal joints are almost immobile, giving the hand a rigid central pillar; the fourth and fifth are more mobile.
Structures next to the second metacarpal bone
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Transverse head of adductor pollicis · muscular
- Dorsal interossei of hand · muscular
- Third metacarpal bone · skeletal
- Palmar metacarpal artery · cardiovascular
- Extensor indicis · muscular
- Dorsal venous network of hand · cardiovascular
- Oblique head of adductor pollicis · muscular
- Palmar interossei of hand · muscular
- Flexor pollicis brevis · muscular
- Fourth metacarpal bone · skeletal
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Second metacarpal bone (FMA24467). 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.