Illustration of the bones of the hand. Each hand is made up of twenty-seven bones that form the wrist, palm, and fingers. These bones allow for a wide range of flexibility and manipulation. Eight of these bones form the arrangement of the wrist, or carpus. These carpal bones are arranged in two rows, the proximal (nearer the body) and distal (nearer the fingers). The distal carpals articulate with the five metacarpals. (the long bones). The proximal phalanges join with the middle phalanges, which articulate with the end sections of the fingers, called distal phalanges. The thumb is the exception, as it lacks a middle phalanx.