Drawing Lesson 16, Part 4 – Bones of the Body

Bones of the Body – Forearm and Hand

Video Lesson Description

In this “Bones of the Body” video part you will discover the anatomy of the forearm and the hand.

Human anatomy for fine artists – Bones of the Forearm and Hand

We continue the “Bones of the Body” discovery.

Below the elbow is the forearm. The arm bone is called the humerus. At the elbow end, the humerus has two projections, called the lateral epicondyle and the medial epicondyle. In anatomy, the word ‘lateral’ stands for ‘on the outside’ and the word ‘medial’ stands for ‘on the inside’.

The medial epicondyle is more prominent than the lateral epicondyle. The flexor muscles of the lower arm attach to the medial epicondyle. This bony projection is visible on our arms near the elbow. Keep this in mind when you are making a drawing of a model.

The lateral epicondyle is noticeable only when the arm is flexed; otherwise it is hidden by muscles. This protrusion serves as the attachment for the exterior muscles of the lower arm.

The two bony structures on the lower end of the humerus are called the capitulum and the trochlea; they are part of the elbow joint.

Bones of the Body include two bones of the forearm, which are called the ulna and the radius. The radius is shorter than the ulna, and the ulna is shorter than the humerus; so the humerus is the longest bone of the arm.

In the anatomical position of the Bones of the Body, the radius and the ulna are parallel to each other. The ulna is located on the little finger’s side, while the radius is on the thumb side of the hand.

The upper part of the ulna is thicker than its lower end. The tip of the elbow corresponds to the oleocranon process, a bony prominence at the ulna’s upper end. The ulna ends at its lower end with the head of the ulna, which is joined with the wrist bones.

Opposite to the ulna, the radius has a slender upper end, which is called the head of radius; and wider lower end, where the styloid process of radius is located. Below the radius’ head, there is the radial tuberosity, also called the bicipital tuberosity, the place where the biceps brachii muscle tendon inserts.

Hand Bones of the Body

There are 27 bones in the hand. Human hands have quite a complex structure and contain one-fourth of all the bones of the skeleton.

There are 8 carpal bones forming the wrist as follows:

– Scaphoid

– Lunate

– Triquetrum

– Pisiform

– Hamate

– Capitate

– Trapezoid

– Trapezium

Below the wrist there are 5 metacarpal bones, which are numbered from 1 to 5 – starting from the thumb.

The Bones of the Body include fingers’ bones, which are called phalanges. There are 14 phalanges in total – three for each finger and only two for the thumb. The first phalanx is called proximal. The second phalanx is called middle. And the third phalanx is distal.

The thumb has two phalanges – proximal and distal.

The joints of the hand are as follows:

– Carpo-metacarpal joints (or CMC) are the joints between the carpal bones and the metacarpal bones.

– Metacarpo-phalangeal joints (or MCP) are the joints between the metacarpal bones and the phalanx bones.

– Proximal inter-phalangeal joints (or PIP) are joints between the proximal and middle phalanges of the fingers.

– Distal inter-phalangeal joints (or DIP) are joints between the middle and distal phalanges of the fingers.

– Inter-phalangeal joint of the thumb (or IP) is the joint between the proximal and distal thumb’s phalanges.

In the Drawing Academy course, I have also dedicated another video lesson that describes, in more detail, the Bones of the Body including the anatomy of the hand, its bones, muscles, tendons, as well as, its proportions and measurements.