[History of the carpus and carpal instability]

A concise history of our understanding of the wrist and carpal instability is presented. During the Middle Ages, the wrist is sometimes depicted as consisting of only one bone; Galen, however, showed that there are eight. At first, the carpal bones were simply numbered from one to eight. Only in the 17th century did Lyser of Leipzig suggest naming the individual bones, something first done by Monro of Edinburgh. Landsmeer's concept of intercalated bones in the wrist is already suggested in Galen's work. The ligaments of the wrist were described in detail by Weitbrecht in 1742. Copper plate engravings attest to the accuracy of his anatomical dissections. Progress in the understanding of carpal kinematics followed the discovery of X-rays by Röntgen, in 1895. The columnar carpus concept was to be replaced by the carpal-link concept, demonstrating the interdependent intercalary articulation of the carpal bones. The discovery of X-rays was also followed by the discovery of many post-traumatic disorders of the wrist. Following these European and particularly French contributions, further recent investigations, most notably by American authors, have led to the development of new concepts of carpal instability and carpal collapse.