Role of scaphoid in the abduction and adduction movements of wrist joint.

Being a carpal bone scaphoid has an important role in wrist movements. Wrist joint is a synovial modified ellipsoid joint where movements like flexion, extension and adduction, abduction take place around two axes (transverse and anteroposterior). These movements at the wrist joint are associated with considerable range of movements at the midcarpal joint, as same group of muscles act on both of these joints. A study has been done amongst 120 persons at the Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, West Bengal during the period from 1998-2000 to detect the important movements of scaphoid bone specially during the abduction and adduction of wrist joint (which occur in association with the intercarpal joints) and also to detect whether such movements have any speciality in the population of eastern part of India. It was found in this study that the scaphoid acts as a link bone between the two rows of carpal bones and prevents the buckling of midcarpal joint specially of the capitato-lunate joint interface.