The carpel bones are examples of short bones - bones that are about as long as they are wide.

The phalanges are of course 'short' when compared to the bones of the arm, for example - but anatomically they are long bones, with a shaft (diaphysis) and epiphyses at the end.

The finger metacarpals are bound together by ligaments but the thumb metacarpal is free and mobile.

This allows the thumb to move across the palm, a movement that is essential for gripping and holding.

It can be confusing to remember which of the bones in the han are which - but fortunately, they are in alphabetical order!

So going from the wrist to the fingers we have:

• Carpals
• Metacarpals
• Phalanges

The carpel bones are from the wrist joints. There are 8 carpel bones ineach wrist.

These bones form the base of the hands. These are 5 metacarpal bones in each palm, and they meet the phalanges (finger bones) at the knuckle joints.

These are the finger bones, from the knuckle upwards. Each hand has 14 phalanges - three in every finger, and two in each thumb.