This document is designed to summarise all the information you need on the forearm. The colours and design help in making studying more fun while also implementing memorisation with the layout.
bones: radius and ulna Wider below than above. Sharp, medial interosseous
border for attachment of interosseous membrane
joints: radioulnar joints
that binds radius to ulna. Pronator tubercle for
muscles and fasciae insertion pronator teres lies halfway down on lateral
side.
blood vessels – arteries & veins
nerves
1. Upper (proximal) end – head
2. Shaft
3. Lower (distal) end
Articulates with:
- Scaphoid & lunate bones at wrist
- Ulna at distal radioulnar joint
Styloid process projects distally from lateral margin.
Ulnar (sigmoid) notch on medial side articulates with
round head of ulna
Inferior articular surface articulates with scaphoid &
(revision of arm)
lunate bones at the wrist
Radius is the lateral bone of the forearm. Upper end
Dorsal tubercle on posterior aspect of distal end
articulates with:
grooved on its medial side by tendon of extensor
- Humerus at elbow joint pollicis longus (X)
- Ulna at proximal radioulnar joint
Head:
Upper end is concave to articulate with convex
capitulum of humerus. Circumference of head
articulates with radial notch of ulna. Most common
site for elbow fractures
Neck:
Bicipital tuberosity for insertion of biceps
, Radial notch (supero-laterally) for articulation with
head of radius (X)
1. Proximal end Supinator crest (below radial notch) gives origin to
2. Shaft supinator (Y)
3. Distal end (head)
Articulates with radius at distal radioulnar joint. It
doesn’t articulate with the carpus; prevented from
(revision of arm) doing so by articular disc.
Upper end of ulna, articulates with: Head – at its lower end!
- Humerus at elbow joint Styloid process projects from medial border of head
- Head of radius at proximal radioulnar joint Groove for extensor carpi ulnaris posteriorly lateral to
Olecranon process = prominence of elbow styloid process (X)
Notch on anterior surface = trochlear (semilunar
notch); articulates with trochlea of humerus
Coronoid process, below trochlear notch; in flexion of
the forearm, it is received into the coronoid fossa of
the humerus
Radial notch on lateral surface for articulation with
head of radius
Fracture of lower end of shaft of ulna
A small subcutaneous bursa is normally present over
the olecranon process of the ulna. Repeated trauma
often produces chronic bursitis
Fracture of the shafts of the radius and ulna may or
may not occur together. Displacement of the
fragment may be considerable and depends on the
pull of the attached muscles
Tapers from above down, sharp lateral interosseous
border for attachment of interosseous membrane.
Posterior border is rounded & subcutaneous (easily
palpable)
, Fracture neck of radius. Occur in young children form (exam)
falls on the outstretched hand
A fracture of the distal end of the radius resulting
from a fall on the outstretched hand. The force drives
the distal fragment posteriorly and superiorly. The
posterior displacement produces a posterior bump,
sometimes referred to as the “dinner-fork deformity”
Fractures of head of radius. Can occur from falls on
the outstretched hand
Smiths fracture is a fracture of the distal end of the
radius that occurs from a fall on the back of the hand.
Fractures involving other structures: It is a reversed Colles’ fracture because the distal
fragment is displaced anteriorly, producing a “garden
A fracture of one forearm bone may be associated
fork deformity”
with a dislocation of the other bone.
Monteggia’s fracture; shaft of the ulna is fractured by
a force applied from behind. There is a bowling
forward of the ulnar shaft and an anterior dislocation
of the radial head with rupture of the annular
ligament
hand is forcibly flexed
on impact by a
posteriorly applied
force
Galeazzi’s fracture: a fracture of the radius with
dislocation of the distal radioulnar joint (X)
hand forcibly
extended on impact
by an anteriorly
applied force
Fracture of olecranon – fractures of the olecranon
process can result from a fall on the flexed elbow or
from a direct blow
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