Anatomy of joints
Written Assignment Unit 2: Anatomy of joints
University of the People
HS 2211-01 Human anatomy and physiology -T1
Instructor -- Omar Tawfik
Sep.13, 2022
Anatomy of joints
According to our readings, structural classifications of the joints of the body are determined by
how the bones are kept together and articulate with one another. At fibrous joints,
neighboring bones are joined directly by fibrous connective tissue. Similarly, cartilage
connects adjacent bones at a cartilaginous junction. In contrast, at a synovial joint, the
articulating bone surfaces are not directly joined but instead meet within a joint cavity
filled with fluid. (Betts et al., 2013) Therefore, a joint is the point of contact between two
bones. It is possible to classify joints histologically based on the predominant kind of
connective tissue and functionally based on the range of motion allowed. The three joints
in the body are fibrous, cartilaginous, and synovial from a histological standpoint variety
of joints.
Fibrous joint (syndesmosis)
In the leg, the syndesmosis between the tibia and fibula tightly joins the bones, allowing for
minimal movement, and firmly secures the talus bone between the tibia and fibula at the
ankle joint. This supplies the leg and ankle with the necessary strength and stability
during weight bearing. The interosseous membrane in the forearm is sufficiently flexible
to allow rotation of the radius bone during forearm movement. In contrast to the stability
provided by the tibiofibular syndesmosis, the flexibility of the antebrachial interosseous
membrane enables the forearm to move significantly more freely. (Betts et al., 2013)
Cartilaginous joint (symphysis)
A symphysis (literally "growing together") is a cartilaginous joint where the bones are connected
by fibrocartilage. In comparison to hyaline cartilage, fibrocartilage is considerably more
resistant to pulling and bending pressures due to the presence of multiple bundles of thick
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Anatomy of joints
collagen fibers. This gives symphyses the capacity to firmly join adjacent bones while
allowing for some restricted movement. (Betts et al., 2013)
The anatomy of our musculoskeletal system is highly intricate, claims Chung. It is made up of a
lot of bones, cartilage, joints, bursae, tendons, and ligaments. By sending stimulatory
impulses via neurons from our brain, we can control our muscles. Tendon-like structures,
which connect the muscles to the bones, are used for this purpose. (Chung 2019)
Since my hip joints were in pain last month, I decided to use the ball and socket joint from the
synovial joints for this project. The hip and shoulder joints are the only other ball-and-
socket joints in the body. The six types of synovial joints are pivot, hinge, condyloid,
saddle, plane, and ball-and-socket joints, as shown in the illustration below.
Synovial Joints
SwivelJoint
Saddle Joint
Ball-and- SocketJoint
Hinge Joint
Plane Joint
Image source: https://www.healthpages.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/joints-of-body.jpg