Anatomy def: Carpals are eight small bones forming the wrist.
Outlander def: Rocking aboard the Artemis, Claire checks her soaring temperature with the back of wrist. Oh, the lass is on fire! … psst … so is Jamie! He, he!
Learn about carpal bones in Anatomy Lesson #22 Jamie’s Hand – Symbol of Sacrifice. If time is short for a full lesson, consider watching my quickie hand lesson, courtesy of Outlander After the Show. This lesson streamed June 1, 2015, just after the airing of ep 116, Wentworth Prison. The lesson begins at 16:42 in the following video. Thanks to hosts Keetin, Jen and Ryan for inviting me to discuss the hand’s splendid engineering!
Eight oddly-shaped carpal bones are arranged in two rows to form the wrist. The near row abuts forearm bones and the far row articulates with metacarpal bones. Carpal bones are named for their shapes:
- scaphoid (boat)
- lunate (crescent-shaped)
- triquetrum (three-cornered)
- pisiform (pea)
- trapezium (table)
- trapezoid (quadrilateral)
- capitate (head-shaped)
- hamate (hook-shaped)
Carpal bones are arranged in a shallow arch traversed by 9 tendons and a nerve. Small repetitive movements or fluid retention can create pressure on the nerve (median) as it passes through the arch causing tingling and numbness, symptoms associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Read about carpal bones in Outlander book, wherein Claire amuses herself by likening streets and lanes of Cranesmuir to bones of forearm and hand. That Claire – always the doc. That Diana – always the scientist. We love them!
In fact, I had amused myself on the ride to the smithy by imagining an aerial view of the village as a representation of a skeletal forearm and hand; the High Street was the radius, along which lay the shops and businesses and the residences of the more well-to-do. St. Margaret’s Lane was the ulna, a narrower street running parallel with the High, tenanted by smithy, tannery, and the less genteel artisans and businesses. The village square (which, like all village squares I had ever seen, was not square at all, but roughly oblong) formed the carpals and metacarpals of the hand, while the several lanes of cottages made up the phalangeal joints of the fingers.
See Claire’s wrist in action as she self-diagnoses in Starz Episode 311, Uncharted! Continue watching the episode to see what Jamie does to douse her fever. Wink, wink!
The deeply grateful,
Outlander Anatomist
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