CMC vs MCP Joints

This Job Aid is available to help with identifying hand/wrist grafts that are sent for processing already dissected, and to help guide the dissection for tissue sent as whole hand/wrist en-blocs.

Please take photos in the supplier app of the tissue as it is unwrapped/prior to processing. This allows JRF to collect feedback for recovery groups.






Carpometacarpal (CMC) Joint
The five joints in the wrist that articulate the distal row of carpal bones and the proximal bases of the five metacarpal bones.
Where the wrist meets the hand
Note the knobby/club-like shape of the metacarpal head (figure 2). This is distinct from the more trochlear/condylar shape ​of the proximal phalanx head found at the most distal component of the MCP graft (figure 3).
Note the articular surface of the trapezium bone.
The most commonly requested CMC joint is that of the thumb (1st digit). This graft comes from the thumb-pad area of the palm of the hand and the wrist.





Metacarpophalangeal (MCP) Joint
Situated between the metacarpal bones and the proximal phalanges of the fingers.
Where the fingers meet the hand
Note the trochlear/condylar shape of the proximal phalanx head (figure 3). This is distinct from the more knobby/club-like shapes of the metacarpal heads found at the most distal component of the CMC graft (figure 2).
The MCP Joint is centered around the first knuckle of the target digit. This graft will include the bones proximal (metacarpal) and distal (phalange) to that first knuckle.

Updated on: 13/01/2022