What Does "Volar" Mean?
Volar refers to the palm side (anterior surface) of the hand and wrist, or the sole side of the foot—essentially, the flexor surface of these anatomical regions.
Anatomical Definition
The term "volar" is a directional anatomical term that describes:
- In the hand and wrist: The palmar surface—the side where your palm is located, opposite to the dorsal (back) side
- In the foot: The plantar surface—the sole of the foot
- Functional correlation: The volar surface corresponds to the flexor side, where flexor tendons, the volar plate, and other flexor structures are located
Clinical Context and Usage
The term appears frequently in hand and wrist trauma and surgery literature 1:
- Volar plate: A fibrous structure on the palmar side of finger joints that prevents hyperextension 1
- Volar cortex: The palmar-side bone surface of the distal radius, which is actually thicker than the dorsal cortex and may provide more stable fixation 2
- Volar approach: A surgical approach from the palm side, commonly used for distal radius fracture fixation 3, 4, 5
- Volar locking plates: Implants placed on the palmar surface of the distal radius for fracture fixation 5
Key Anatomical Structures on the Volar Surface
When discussing volar anatomy of the hand and wrist, important structures include 4, 6:
- Flexor tendons (flexor carpi radialis, flexor pollicis longus, flexor digitorum profundus)
- Radial and ulnar arteries
- Median nerve
- Volar retinacular elements and pulley systems
- Volar plates of the metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints
The volar surface is essentially synonymous with "palmar" in the hand, though "volar" is the preferred anatomical term in formal medical literature.