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The Problem with Wrist Replacement…

When you first look at a musculoskeletal anatomy image of the wrist, it may seem a bit perplexing, seemingly lacking any rhyme or reason. The wrist consists of eight pebble-sized irregularly-shaped bones that appear to be crammed into a space between the fingers and the proximal end of the lower-arm bones (ulna and radius). But the structure of the wrist is far from random, and the complexity of the musculoskeletal design doesn’t end with the bones. The wrist has an even more complex design when you factor in all of the tiny ligaments that provide stability and support and hold the machine that is the wrist all together.

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KenHub

The radiocarpal joint is a synovial joint formed between the radius, its articular disc and three proximal carpal bones; the scaphoid, lunate and triquetral bones. Technically, the radiocarpal joint is considered to be the only articular component of the wrist joint; many references, however, may also include adjacent joints, such as the carpal joints, in this definition.

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The wrist is an ellipsoidal (condyloid) type synovial joint, allowing for movement along two axes. This means that flexion, extension, adduction and abduction can all occur at the wrist joint.