The Collaborative Dictionary

Wrist \Wrist\, n. [OE. wriste, wrist, AS. wrist; akin to OFries. wriust, LG. wrist, G. rist wrist, instep, Icel. rist instep, Dan. & Sw. vrist, and perhaps to E. writhe.] [1913 Webster]

(Anat.) The joint, or the region of the joint, between the hand and the arm; the carpus. See Carpus. [1913 Webster] He took me by the wrist, and held me hard. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

(Mach.) A stud or pin which forms a journal; -- also called wrist pin. [1913 Webster] Bridle wrist, the wrist of the left hand, in which a horseman holds the bridle. Wrist clonus. [NL. clonus, fr. Gr. ?. See Clonic.] (Med.) A series of quickly alternating movements of flexion and extension of the wrist, produced in some cases of nervous disease by suddenly bending the hand back upon the forearm. Wrist drop (Med.), paralysis of the extensor muscles of the hand, affecting the hand so that when an attempt is made to hold it out in line with the forearm with the palm down, the hand drops. It is chiefly due to plumbism. Called also hand drop. Wrist plate (Steam Engine), a swinging plate bearing two or more wrists, for operating the valves. [1913 Webster]

Word Net

wrist n : a joint between the distal end of the radius and the proximal row of carpal bones [syn: carpus, wrist joint, radiocarpal joint, articulatio radiocarpea]

Moby Thesaurus

ankle, arm, articulation, biceps, boundary, butt, cervix, clinch, closure, connecting link, connecting rod, connection, coupling, dovetail, elbow, embrace, forearm, gliding joint, hinge, hinged joint, hip, interface, join, joining, joint, juncture, knee, knuckle, link, miter, mortise, neck, pivot, pivot joint, rabbet, scarf, seam, shoulder, stitch, suture, symphysis, tie rod, toggle, toggle joint, union, upper arm, weld

English

Pronunciation

• RP & US: , /rɪst/, /rIst/

  Rhymes: -ɪst

Etymology

Old English, cognate to Swedish vrist.

Noun

1. The complex joint where the hand is attached to the arm; the carpus.

Derived terms

• wristwatch, wrist watch
• limp-wristed
• wrist-action

Translations

• trreq Albanian
• Arabic:
• Armenian: դաստակ
• Bulgarian: китка
• Catalan: canyell
• Chinese: 腕子 (wànzǐ)
• Croatian: zglavak , bilo
• Czech: zápěstí
• Danish: håndled
• Dutch: pols
• Esperanto: pojno
• Estonian: ranne
• Finnish: ranne
• French: poignet
• Georgian: მაჯა (madža)
• German: Handgelenk
• Greek: καρπός (karpós)
• Hebrew: פרק
• Hindi: कलाई
• Hungarian: csukló
• trreq Icelandic
• Italian: polso
• Japanese: 手首 (tekubi)
• Korean: 손목 (sonmok), 팔목 (palmok)
• Kurdish: zend , meçek , bask
• Latin: carpus
• trreq Latvian
• Lithuanian: riešas
• trreq Norwegian
• Old English: wríst
• Persian: مچ دست
• Polish: nadgarstek
• Portuguese: pulso
• trreq Romanian
• Russian: запястье руки (zapjástje rukí)
• Serbian: zapestje , doručje , zapešćaj , zapešće
• trreq Slovak
• Slovene: zapestje
• Spanish: muñeca
• Swedish: handled
• Telugu: మణికట్టు (maNikaTTu)
• Thai: (kôr meu)
• Turkish: nabız

Anagrams

• writs

See also

• Wikipedia article on the wrist

Old English

Etymology

Common Germanic *wristiz, whence also Old High German *rist, Old Norse rist

Noun

wrist f

1. wrist

In human anatomy, the wrist is the flexible and narrower connection between the forearm and the palm. The wrist is essentially a double row of small short bones, called carpals, intertwined to form a malleable hinge.

The wrist-joint (articulatio radiocarpea) is a condyloid articulation allowing three degrees of freedom.

Structure of joint

The parts forming it are the lower end of the radius and under surface of the articular disk above; and the scaphoid, lunate, and triquetral bones below.

The articular surface of the radius and the under surface of the articular disk form together a transversely elliptical concave surface, the receiving cavity.

The superior articular surfaces of the scaphoid, lunate, and triquetrum form a smooth convex surface, the condyle, which is received into the concavity.

The bones of the wrist can be easily remembered by the mnemonic SLTPTTCH - Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can't Handle. These represent the bones in order of proximal row radial to ulnar and then distal row radial to ulnar: Scaphoid, Lunate, Triquetral, Pisiform; Trapezium, Trapezoid, Capitate, Hamate.

Ligaments

The joint is surrounded by a capsule, strengthened by the following ligaments:

• Palmar radiocarpal ligament
• Dorsal radiocarpal ligament
• Ulnar collateral ligament (wrist)
• Radial collateral ligament (wrist)

The synovial membrane lines the deep surfaces of the ligaments above described, extending from the margin of the lower end of the radius and articular disk above to the margins of the articular surfaces of the carpal bones below. It is loose and lax, and presents numerous folds, especially behind.

Movements

The movements permitted in this joint are flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, and circumduction. They are studied with those of the carpus, with which they are combined.

See also

• Distal radius fracture
• Brunelli Procedure, related to instability in the wrist

Additional images

References

External links

• Wrist ligaments at upenn.edu