Radius (bone)

Radius (bone)

The radius or radial bone is one of the two large bones of the forearm, the other being the ulna. It extends from the lateral side of the elbow to the thumb side of the wrist and runs parallel to the ulna, which exceeds it in length and size. It is a long bone, prism-shaped and slightly curved longitudinally. The radius articulates with the capitulum of the humerus, the radial notch and the head of the ulna. The corresponding bone in the lower leg is the tibia.

The word radius is Latin for "ray". In the context of the radius bone, a ray can be thought of rotating around an axis line extending diagonally from center of capitulum to the center of distal ulna. While the ulna is the major contributor to the elbow joint, the radius primarily contributes to the wrist joint.

The radius is named so because the radius (bone) acts like the radius (of a circle). The ulna acts as the center point to the circle because when the arm is rotated the ulna does not move. The radius (bone) acts like the radius (of a circle) because it rotates around the ulna and the far end (where it joins to the bones of the hand), known as the styloid process of the radius, is the distance from the ulna (center of the circle) to the edge of the radius (the circle).