Joints & Articulations

Classification Of Joints
• Classification By Function (degree of
movement possible):
1. Synarthroses (Syn=connected, immovable)
• Joints with little or no movement
• Skull sutures, cranium (minus the mandible)
2. Amphiarthroses (Amphi = on both sides, between)
• Slightly moveable joints
• Intervertebral discs, costosternal joints, cartilaginous
joints(vertebrate between spine)
3. Diarthroses (Diar=passing through, free moving)
• Freely moveable joints
• Shoulder, knee, hip, elbow, interphalangeal, tarsal, and
carpal joints
 Joint Classification
• Classification by
structure:
1. Synovial joints:
• Bones separated by
a joint cavity;
lubricated by
synovial fluid;
enclosed in a
fibrous joint
capsule.
• Shoulder, hip,
elbow, knee, carpal,
interphalangeal

How would we classify these

joints functionally?
Joint Classification
2. Fibrous joints:
• Bones held together by
collagenous fibers
extending from the
matrix of one bone into
the matrix of the next.
• No joint cavity
• Skull sutures, teeth in
joints, distal radioulnar
joints & tibiofibular
joints
Joint Classifications
3. Cartilaginous joints:
• Bones held together by cartilage; no joint cavity
• Epiphyseal plates of long bones, costosternal joints, pubic
symphysis, intervertebral discs
Structure and Function
• Joints are designed for
their function.
• Let’s look at sutures as
our 1st example:
• Name 4 sutures!
• What function do you
suppose sutures are
designed for?
Types of Joints in the
Human Body
(1) Immovable: fixed joint such as the cranium
(2) Ball-and-socket joints: such as the shoulder and hip joints, allow
backward, forward, sideways, and rotating movements.
(3) Hinge joints: such as in the fingers, knees, elbows, and toes,
allow only bending and straightening movements.
(4) Pivot joints: such as the neck joints, allow limited rotating
movements.
(5) Sliding Joint: found in the vertebral column and allows small
sliding movements. The vertebrae have pads of cartilage between
them, and the bones slide over these pads. This is what makes the
backbone so flexible.
(6) Ellipsoidal Joint: similar to a ball and socket joint. They allow
the same type of movement to a lesser magnitude such as the wrist
Structure and Function
• Now let’s talk about
synovial joints.
• 5 main structural
characteristics:
1. Articular cartilage
• What kind of cartilage is
it?

• Where do we find it?

• What does it do?
 Structure and Function
2. Articular capsule
• 2 layered. Surrounds both
articular cartilages and the space
btwn them.
• External layer is made of dense
irregular CT & is continuous w/
the perisoteum.
• Inner layer is a synovial
membrane made of loose
connective tissue.
• It covers all internal joint surfaces
except for those areas covered by
the articular cartilage.
Structure and Function
3. Joint (Synovial) Cavity
• The potential space within
the joint capsule and articular
cartilage
4. Synovial Fluid
• A small amount of slippery
fluid occupying all free space
w/i the joint capsule
• Formed by filtration of blood
flowing thru capillaries in the
synovial membrane
• Synovial fluid becomes less
viscous as joint activity
increases.
Structure and Function
5. Reinforcing Ligaments
• What kind of tissue are
they?
• What do you suppose their
function is?
• Double-jointed-ness
results from extra-stretchy
ligaments and joint
capsules. Is this
necessarily a good thing?
Other Synovial Structures
• The knee and hip joints have
cushioning fatty pads btwn
the fibrous capsule and the
synovial membrane or bone.
• Discs of fibrocartilage (i.e.,
menisci) which improve the
fit between bone ends, thus
stabilizing the joint.
• Found in the knee, jaw, and
sternoclavicular joint.
• Bursae are basically bags of
lubricant - fibrous membrane
bags filled with synovial
fluid. Often found where
bones, muscles, tendons, or
ligaments rub together.
Types of Synovial
Joints
1. Plane joints
• Articular surfaces are flat and
allow short slipping or gliding
movements.
• Intercarpal and intertarsal joints
2. Hinge joints
• A cylindrical projection of one
bone fits into a trough-shaped
surface on another (like a
hotdog in a bun)
• Movement resembles a door
hinge.
• Elbow joint – ulna and
humerus; Interphalangeal joints
Type of Synovial
Joints
3. Pivot joints
• Rounded end of one bone
protrudes into a ring formed by
another bone or by ligaments of
that bone.
• Proximal radioulnar joint
• Atlas-axial joint
4. Condyloid joints
• Oval articular surface of one bone
fits into a complementary
depression on another.
• Radiocarpal joints
• Metacarpophalangeal joints
Types of Synovial
Joints
5. Saddle joints
• Each articular surface has convex and
concave areas. Each articular surface
is saddle-shaped.
• Carpometacarpal joints of the
thumbs.
6. Ball-and-Socket joints
• Spherical or semi-spherical head of
one bone articulates with the cuplike
socket of another.
• Allow for much freedom of motion.
• Shoulder and hip joints.
The Knee
• Largest and most complex
diarthrosis in the body.
• Primarily a hinge joint, but when
the knee is flexed, it is also
capable of slight rotation and
lateral gliding.
• Actually consists of 3 joints:
• Patellofemoral joint
• Medial and lateral tibiofemoral joints
• The joint cavity is only partially
enclosed by a capsule – on the
medial, lateral, and posterior sides.
• The lateral and medial
condyles of the femur The Knee
articulate with the lateral
and medial condyles of
the tibia.
• Between these structures,
we have the lateral and
medial menisci.
• Anteriorly, the patellar
ligament binds the tibia
(where?) to the inferior
portion of the patella.
The superior portion of
the patella is then
connected to the
quadriceps femoris
muscle
• At least a dozen bursae
are associated with the
The Knee
knee.
• Multiple ligaments are
present.
• The fibular collateral
ligament extends from the
lateral epicondyle of the
femur to the head of the
fibula.
• The tibial collateral
ligament connects medial
epicondyle of the femur to
the medial condyle of the
tibial shaft and is also
fused to the medial
meniscus.
• Both of these ligaments
prevent excessive rotation
• The anterior and posterior
cruciate ligaments are also
The Knee
very important.
• ACL connects the anterior
intercondylar area of the tibia to
the medial side of the lateral
femoral condyle.
• Prevents forward sliding of the
tibia and hyperextension of the
knee.
• PCL connects the posterior
intercondylar area of the tibia to
the lateral side of the medial
femoral condyle.
• Prevents backward displacement
of the tibia or forward sliding of
the femur.
 ACL Videos

http://video.about.com/sportsmedicine/Anterior-Cruciate-Ligament.htm

http://video.about.com/sportsmedicine/Medial-Meniscus-Injury.htm
Articulations (Movements)
Clinical
Conditions
• Arthritis describes about 100
different types of
inflammatory or
degenerative joint diseases.
• Osteoarthritis
• Most common arthritis.
• Normal joint use prompts the
release of cartilage-damaging
enzymes. If cartilage
destruction exceeds cartilage
replacement, we’re left with  Eventually bone tissue
roughened, cracked, eroded thickens and forms spurs that
cartilages. can restrict movement.
 Most common in C and L
spine, fingers, knuckles,
knees, and hips.
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Chronic inflammatory Clinical
disorder
• Marked by flare-ups
Conditions
• Autoimmune disease.
• Body creates antibodies
which attack the joint
surfaces
• The synovial membrane can
inflame and eventually
thicken into a pannus – an
abnormal tissue that clings to
the articular cartilage.
Clinical
Conditions

• Gouty arthritis
• When nucleic acids are metabolized uric acid is
produced. Normally uric acid is excreted in the urine.
• If blood [uric acid] rises due to decreased excretion or
increased production, it may begin to form needle-
shaped crystals in the soft tissues of joints.
• Inflammation ensues causing painful arthritis.