JOINTS

Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Know what the 3 main types of joint are.• Know where each can be found.• Understand what a ligament and a tendon

is.

Joints

• We know our skeleton is made of bones.

• Joints are where two or more bones meet.

• Joints are divided into 3 types depending on how freely the bones can move.

IMMOVABLE JOINTS

• These joints are fixed and no movement is possible.

• For example, the bones in the cranium.

CARTILAGINOUS JOINTS

• These joints are linked by cartilage.• For example, the vertebrae.• They allow a small range of movement.

SYNOVIAL JOINTS• These have the greatest

range of movement.

• These joints are called synovial joints because they have synovial fluid in them to lubricate the joint.

• There are 6 types of

synovial joint.

Synovial joints

1. Hinge – these have a hinge like a door.

Eg. Knee.

2. Pivot – this type of joint occurs at the neck. It allows

rotation to occur.

Synovial joints3. Ball and Socket – These

joints have the greatest range of movement.

e.g. shoulder, hip.

4. Gliding joint – This is where flat bones glide over each other, such as the small bones in the wrist (carpals).

Synovial joints

5. Saddle joint – This joint is found at the base of the thumb.

6. Condyloid joint – This type of joint is found in the wrist and ankle.

The Knee Joint

• You will need to know the structure of a synovial joint. We are going to take the knee for an example.

• Look carefully at the following slide.

Synovial joint - KneeOuter sleeve called the joint capsule.

Synovial membrane

Joint cavity – small gap between the bones full with synovial fluid.

Cartilage on the ends of the bones. This stops the bones knocking together.

Ligaments – hold the bones together and keep them in place.

Bone