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Synovial joint

 
Synovial Joint

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Synovial joint



 
 
Synovial joints (or diarthroses, or diarthroidal joints) are the most common and most movable type of joint
Joint

A joint is the location at which two or more bones make contact. They are constructed to allow movement and provide mechanical support, and are classified structurally and functionally....
s in the human body. As with most other joints, synovial joints achieve movement at the point of contact of the articulating bone
Bone

Bones are rigid organ that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red blood cell and white blood cells and store minerals....
s.

Structural and functional differences distinguish synovial joints from cartilaginous joints (synchondroses and symphyses) and fibrous joints (sutures, gomphoses, and syndesmoses
Syndesmoses

Syndesmoses are joints at which two bones are bound together by a ligament only. Syndesmoses are the most movable of the fibrous joints. The radius and ulna are bound to each other side by side, as are the tibia and fibula, by a syndesmosis in which the ligament forms a broad sheet called an interosseous membrane along the shafts of the two...
).






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Synovial joints (or diarthroses, or diarthroidal joints) are the most common and most movable type of joint
Joint

A joint is the location at which two or more bones make contact. They are constructed to allow movement and provide mechanical support, and are classified structurally and functionally....
s in the human body. As with most other joints, synovial joints achieve movement at the point of contact of the articulating bone
Bone

Bones are rigid organ that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red blood cell and white blood cells and store minerals....
s.

Structural and functional differences distinguish synovial joints from cartilaginous joints (synchondroses and symphyses) and fibrous joints (sutures, gomphoses, and syndesmoses
Syndesmoses

Syndesmoses are joints at which two bones are bound together by a ligament only. Syndesmoses are the most movable of the fibrous joints. The radius and ulna are bound to each other side by side, as are the tibia and fibula, by a syndesmosis in which the ligament forms a broad sheet called an interosseous membrane along the shafts of the two...
). The main structural differences between synovial and fibrous joints is the existence of capsules surrounding the articulating surfaces of a synovial joint and the presence of lubricating synovial fluid within that capsule (synovial cavity).

Structure

  • articular capsule: The fibrous capsule is continuous with the periosteum of bone. It is also highly innervated but avascular (lacking blood and lymph vessels)
  • articular cartilage: lines the epiphyses of joint end of bone. Provides the loading and unloading mechanism to resist load and shock
  • synovial membrane: the inner layer of the fibrous articular capsule. The synovial membrane covers the lining of the synovial cavity where articular cartilage is absent.


Types

There are six types of synovial joints. Some are relatively immobile, but are more stable. Others have multiple degrees of freedom, but at the expense of greater risk of injury. In ascending order of mobility, they are:

Name Example Description >- | Gliding joint
Gliding joint

A plane joint is a synovial joint which admits of only gliding movement. The gliding joint allows one bone to slide over the other.The gliding joint in your wrist allows to flex your wrist....
s
(or planar joints)
the carpals of the wrist
Wrist

In human anatomy, the wrist is the flexible and narrower connection between the forearm and the hand. The wrist is essentially a double row of small short bones, called carpals, intertwined to form a malleable hinge....
 
- | Hinge joint
Hinge joint

In the hinge joint , the articular surfaces are moulded to each other in such a manner as to permit motion only in one plane, forward and backward, the extent of motion at the same time being considerable....
s
the elbow (between the humerus
Humerus

The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow.Anatomically, it connects the scapula and the ulna, and consists of the following three sections:...
 and the ulna
Ulna

The ulna is a long bone, prism atic in form, placed at the Anatomical terms of location#Relative directions side of the forearm, parallel with the radius ....
) and knee
These joints act like a door
Door

A door is a moveable barrier used to cover an opening. Doors are used widely and are found in walls or partitions of a building or space, furniture such as cupboards, cage s, vehicles, and containers....
 hinge
Hinge

A hinge is a type of Bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation ....
, allowing flexion and extension in just one plane. |- | Pivot joint
Pivot joint

A Pivot joint is a joint that moves by rotating. For example, the joint that allows humans to rotate their heads on their necks is a pivot joint....
s
the elbow (between the radius
Radius (bone)

The radius is the bone of the forearm that extends from the lateral side of the Elbow-joint to the thumb side of the wrist. The radius is situated on the lateral side of the ulna, which exceeds it in length and size....
 and the ulna
Ulna

The ulna is a long bone, prism atic in form, placed at the Anatomical terms of location#Relative directions side of the forearm, parallel with the radius ....
)
- | Condyloid joint
Condyloid joint

In a condyloid joint an ovoid articular surface, or condyle, is received into an elliptical cavity in such a manner as to permit flexion, extension, adduction, anatomical terms of motion, and circumduction, but no axial rotation....
s
(or ellipsoidal joints)
the wrist
Wrist

In human anatomy, the wrist is the flexible and narrower connection between the forearm and the hand. The wrist is essentially a double row of small short bones, called carpals, intertwined to form a malleable hinge....
A condyloid joint is where two bones fit together with an odd shape (e.g. an ellipse
Ellipse

In mathematics, an ellipse is the apparent shape of a circle viewed obliquely from outside it, as distinct from a hyperbola which is the shape seen from inside....
), and one bone is concave, the other convex. Some classifications make a distinction between condyloid and ellipsoid joints. |- | Saddle joint
Saddle joint

In a saddle joint the opposing surfaces are reciprocally concave-convex....
s
the thumb
Thumb

The thumb is the Human_anatomical_terms#Anatomical_directions-most finger of the hand. The English adjective for thumb is pollical....
 (between the metacarpal and carpal)
Saddle joints, which resemble a saddle
Horse tack

Tack is a term used to describe any of the various equipment and accessories worn by horses in the course of their use as domestication of the horse animals....
, permit the same movements as the condyloid joints. |- | Ball and socket joint
Ball and socket joint

A ball and socket joint is a joint in which the distal bone is capable of motion around an indefinite number of axes, which have one common center....
s
the shoulder
Shoulder

In human anatomy, the shoulder joint comprises the part of the body where the humerus attaches to the scapula. The shoulder refers to the group of structures in the region of the joint....
 and hip joints
These allow a wide range of movement.