[Ligaments of the wrist and their clinical significance]

The ligaments of the wrist joint were dissected on ten hands of corpses fixed with formalin. A two and a half magnifying lens was used during the dissection. The following structures could be discerned: a radial and an ulnar collateral ligament and the dorsal radiocarpal ligament, which are all capsular ligaments. Furthermore the intracapsular palmar group of ligaments, which could be divided into five different parts, and the intracarpal (interosseous) ligaments, which stabilize the bones of the proximal and distal carpal row. The exact knowledge of the anatomic standards and proportions in the wrist joint will be a fundamental step to improve the present treatment of the carpal instability.