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The interactive dog atlas · Skeleton · Forelimb

Carpal bones ossa carpi

The carpal bones are the seven small bones of the wrist of the front leg, between the forearm and the metacarpus, arranged in two rows.

Open in the interactive atlas Guide: Skeleton Worksheet

Educational material, not a diagnostic tool. Written by the Mantrailing România team from veterinary sources we read. Updated 14.11.2026.

Dog in left lateral view — exterior, muscles, skeleton and organs Vector study after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates: a standing dog, head to the left, deep chest and digitigrade limbs. The four layers use the same contour: exterior with body regions, superficial muscles, skeleton and organs.
  1. Carpal bones
  2. Radius
  3. Ulna
  4. Metacarpus
Carpal bones on the atlas drawing, "Skeleton" layer, with the neighbouring structures. Left lateral view, after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates.

Where it is

Between the radius/ulna and the metacarpus.

System
Forelimb
Region
Forelimb

What it is and what it does

The dog's carpus has seven small bones, in two rows, between the forearm and the metacarpus. There are seven, not eight as in other species, because the radial and intermediate bones are fused. The carpal joint corresponds to the human wrist and bends a long way backward.

Worth remembering

The wrist bends a long way backward and corresponds to the human wrist.

Names

  • Also called: carpus, wrist bones.
  • Latin term: ossa carpi.
  • In Romanian: Oasele carpiene (Romanian page).

Guides it appears in

From the same region: Forelimb

All structures, in the atlas · Flashcards: skeleton