Short bone

Short bones are designated as those bones that are as wide as they are long. Their primary function is to provide support and stability with little to no movement. They are one of five types of bones: short, long, flat, irregular and sesamoid. Examples of these bones include the tarsals in the foot and the carpals in the hand.

Additional images

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  Short bones in human skeleton. (shown in red)

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  Classification of bones by shape.

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

• Stedman's Online Medical Dictionary, 27th Edition