[The pisiform bone: sesamoid or carpal bone?].

In man, the pisiform bone occupies an unusual place among the carpal bones. It is situated in an anterior plane to the other bones, sheathed within the tendon of the flexor carpi ulnaris, and ossifying almost four years the last of the carpal bones. Many theories have tried to explain the presence of this "exceptional" bone: the first theory, proposed by Flower and Mivart, suggested the possibility that this bone could be a sesamoid. The second theory supposes a polydactyl hand, assuming that polydactyly preceded pentadactyly; the pisiform would then be a post-minimus vestigial bone according to Bardeleben. Finally, Gegenbauer and Gillies, proposed a primary pentadactyl hand in which the carpus would be composed of three proximal elements, generally two central, and five distal. The pisiform would either be a derivative of the central series, or a distinct element in the carpus. This last theory appears to be the most likely. The primary carpus would therefore have consisted of 12 bones arranged in 3 distinct rows, a proximal row of 3 bones, a central row of 4 bones, and a distal row of 5 bones. According to this theory, the most ulnar of the central would have been displaced to the medial limit of the carpus, to become the pisiform.