Joints and movements
How bones join: fibrous, cartilaginous and synovial joints, the six shapes of synovial joints and their examples, what a joint is made of, and the words for movements (flexion, abduction, pronation, circumduction…).
- 38 cards
- 3 topics
- Free
The outline, topic by topic
Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.
- Concepts
- Scenarios
- Understand
A few cards from the deck
Fibrous joint (synarthrosis): what is it?
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Bones joined by fibrous tissue, almost or entirely immobile.
Example: the skull sutures.
What type of joint is the hip?
- Ball-and-socket
- Hinge
- Plane
- Saddle
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Ball-and-socket
The spherical femoral head turns in the acetabulum around three axes.
Cartilaginous joint (amphiarthrosis): what is it?
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Bones joined by cartilage, allowing small movements.
Examples: the pubic symphysis, the intervertebral discs.
Why does the hip dislocate much less often than the shoulder?
- The deep acetabulum holds the femoral head; the shoulder's glenoid is small and shallow
- The hip has fewer muscles around it
- The hip has only one axis of movement
- The shoulder has no joint capsule
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The deep acetabulum holds the femoral head; the shoulder's glenoid is small and shallow
Mobility and stability trade off: the shoulder gains range at the cost of fit.
Synovial joint (diarthrosis): what is it?
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A mobile joint whose cartilage-covered surfaces are separated by a cavity filled with synovial fluid and closed by a capsule.
It is the type of most limb joints.
What type of joint lets the thumb oppose the other fingers?
- Ball-and-socket
- Saddle
- Pivot
- Hinge
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Saddle
At the trapeziometacarpal joint, two interlocking saddle-shaped surfaces give two axes of movement.