DISSECTIOX OF THE ANTERIOR LIMB. 49 



ligament, and will be seen without further dissection on flexing the 

 joint and looking into it from the front. One of these connects the 

 scaphoid to the magnum and trapezoid, the other joins the cuneiform 

 and magnum. The third is a strong ligament situated at the outer 

 side of the joint, where it is blended with the lateral ligament in front, 

 and with the posterior common ligament behind. Its fibres are fixed 

 superiorly to the pisiform bone, and inferiorly to the unciform and head 

 of the external small metacarpal bone. 



The Carpo-metacarpal Ligaments are four in number — two anterior 

 and two interosseous. One of the anterior ligaments is composed of 

 two separate slips which connect the os magnum and large metacarpal 

 bone. The other passes from the unciform to the head of the external 

 small metacarpal bone, under cover of the lateral ligament. The two 

 interosseous pass, one on each side, from the point of articulation of the 

 large and small metacarpal bones, to join the interosseous ligaments 

 connecting the bones of the lower row. 



Directions. — Attention may at this stage be given to the disposition 

 of the synovial membranes of the carpus, which are three in number. 



Synovial Membranes. — 1. The radio-carpal synovial membrane not 

 only facilitates the movements between the radius and the bones of the 

 upper row, but also descends between the latter bones as far as their 

 interosseous ligaments. 2. The inter-carpal synovial membrane, in the 

 same way, belongs to the intercarpal transverse joint ; but it is also 

 insinuated above, between the bones of the upper row as far as their 

 interosseous ligaments, and descends in the same way below, between 

 the adjacent bones of the lower row. It communicates with the next. 

 3. The carp)0-metacarpal synovial membrane facilitates the movements 

 between the lower row and the heads of the metacarpal bones, ascends 

 between the adjacent bones of the lower row as far as their interosseous 

 ligaments, and dips down to supply the articulations between the large 

 and small metacarpals. 



Directions. — The radio-carpal, inter-carpal, and posterior common 

 ligaments should now be cut transversely. The upper row will thus be 

 isolated as a single piece for the examination of its special ligaments. 



The Ligaments of the Upper Row are three anterior, and three 

 interosseous ; and they are extremely simple. The anterior ligaments 

 are flattened bands connecting the adjacent bones in front, while the 

 interosseous bands are very short and connect the contiguous surfaces 

 of the bones. 



The Ligaments of the Lower Row are two anterior, and two inter- 

 osseous; and they are disposed like those of the upper row. In 

 examining these, the lower tier of bones must not be separated from 

 the metacarpus, as that would involve the destruction, in part, of the 

 suspensory ligament of the fetlock. 



E 



