Scapholunate ligament

The ligament joining the scaphoid and the lunate in the proximal row of wrist bones; its thick dorsal part is the main stabiliser of the scapholunate joint. Most dorsal wrist ganglia arise from the capsule over it, so its fibres are preserved during ganglion excision. A tear can lead to scapholunate instability, tested with the Watson scaphoid shift test.

Related terms

• Anatomy

  Scaphoid

  The most lateral bone of the proximal carpal row, articulating with the radius and four other carpal bones. Boat-shaped, with proximal pole, waist, and distal tubercle. Approximately 80% covered by articular cartilage; the dorsal ridge is the principal vascular entry.

• Investigation

  Watson scaphoid shift test

  Provocative test for scapholunate instability described by Watson: the examiner's thumb presses on the palmar tubercle of the scaphoid while the wrist moves from ulnar to radial deviation; painful dorsal subluxation of the scaphoid over the dorsal rim of the radius is positive. A painless positive test occurs in a third of uninjured lax wrists, so pain is the discriminating feature; the positive likelihood ratio against arthroscopy is about 2.9.

• Condition

  Ganglion cyst

  A benign cyst filled with thick, clear mucin and joined by a stalk to a nearby joint capsule or tendon sheath; its wall has no true synovial lining. It is the commonest lump of the hand and wrist and arises most often on the back of the wrist over the scapholunate ligament, on the front of the wrist beside the radial artery, from a finger's flexor tendon sheath, or as a mucous cyst at the end joint. About half resolve without treatment.

Articles mentioning this term

1. Patient information · 2 October 2026

   Ganglion cysts

   Ganglion cysts of the wrist and fingers: why they form, why many go away on their own, what needle drainage and surgery can do, and the risks.

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