hi kinjalkji, here is a defintion of a syndrome what that is and how that happens: before u know the term carpal tunnel syndrome u certainly need to know what nervus medianus and canalis carpi area esp. the area innervated by medianus nerve. i have written the terms in latin so u can just convert it in english.if u r a medical student then u certainly know medianus nerve lies in carpal tunnel.when this nerve is stretched or squeezed due to some mechanical compression, then the result is followed by a syndrome called carpal tunnel syndrome where the sensibility in palm area and from 1st to third fingers(first is always a thumb)are affected.this kind of defect of sensibility of the area whose sebsibility is provided by medianus nerve is called carpal tunnel syndrome.in serious cases , it can lead to atrophy of affected muscles. canalis carpi/carpan tunnel: it lies between retinaculum flexorum and sulcus carpi(built from root bones of hand/carpals). this canal is U-shaped. i hope my explantion has helped to some extent! ASTU!!!