Which carpal bone is also known as the navicular bone of the hand?

Which carpal bone is also known as the navicular bone of the hand?

• A. Lunate bone
• B. Pisiform bone
• C. Trapezium
• D. Scaphoid bone

Answer: (D)

Scaphoid bone is the navicular bone of the hand. The term navicular comes from its boat-like shape, which led early anatomists to nickname it the navicular, distinguishing it from the similar-sounding bone in the foot. The scaphoid sits on the thumb side of the proximal carpal row and spans toward the distal row, forming part of the radiocarpal joint with the radius. The other carpal bones do not carry this nickname: the lunate is crescent-shaped, the pisiform is a small pea-shaped sesamoid, and the trapezium forms the base of the first metacarpal.

Scaphoid bone is the navicular bone of the hand. The term navicular comes from its boat-like shape, which led early anatomists to nickname it the navicular, distinguishing it from the similar-sounding bone in the foot. The scaphoid sits on the thumb side of the proximal carpal row and spans toward the distal row, forming part of the radiocarpal joint with the radius. The other carpal bones do not carry this nickname: the lunate is crescent-shaped, the pisiform is a small pea-shaped sesamoid, and the trapezium forms the base of the first metacarpal.