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Fibrous Joint Structure

bones held together by fibrous tissue; no joint cavity

ex. sutures of the skull, fibrous ligament connecting the tibia and fibula

Cartilaginous Joint Structure

bones held together by cartilage; no joined cavity

ex. intervertebral joints, epiphyseal plate

Synovial Joint Structure

-bones separated by a joint cavity
-lubricated by synovial fluid
-enclosed in a fibrous joint capsule

ex. all joint of the limbs, most joints of the body

synarthroses joint function

-joints with little or no motion
-typically help together by fibrous connective tissue or cartilage; bones fuse over time

ex. skull sutures, teeth in sockets, 1st constosternal joint

amphiarthroses joint function

-slightly moveable joint
-typically held together by fibrous connective tissue, cartilage, or ligaments

ex intervertebral disks, costosternal joints, pubic symphysis

diarthroses joint function

-freely moveable
-needs space for joint to move

ex. should, knee, hip, elbow, interphalangeal, tarsal and carpal joints


-bones that interlock and are held together by dense fibrous connective tissue
-during middle age the bones of the skill tend to completely fuse
-synarthroses joint


-bones that are separated with a wedge of fibrocartilage
-an amphiarthroses joint

freely moveable joints

-synovial joints
5 distinguishing features
-articular cartilage
-joint cavity
-articular capsule
-synovial fluid
-reinforcing ligament

articular cartilage

-function to absorb compression
-covers the opposing bones of a joint

joint cavity

space between the bones

articular capsule

-membranous lining
-outer fibrous capsule made of dense irregular connective tissue
-continuous with the periosteum
-inner synovial membrane made of loose connective tissue

synovial fluid

interstitial tissue with hyaluronic acid

function of synovial fluid

a) lubrication: thick and viscous, reduces friction
b) nutrient distribution-joint movement (circulation)
c) shock absorption-distributes shock evenly across articular surface

reinforcing ligaments

reinforces and strengthens joint


when reinforcing structures can not stop a joint from moving outside its normal range of motion


only in articular disks
-fibrocartilage pad between opposing bones
-channel the flow of synovial fluid

fat pads

at edges of joint
-provide protection for cartilage
-packing material


small pockets with synovial fluid
-form where tendons or ligaments rub agains bone
-reduce friction, shock absorber

types of synovial joints

-plane joints
-hinge joints
-pivot joints
-condyloid joins
-saddle joints
-ball and socket joints

plane joints

-flattened or one slightly curved face
-allow gliding movements

ex. intercarpal and intertarsal joints

hinge joints

permit angular motion in a single plane

ex. elbow, knee, ankle

pivot joint

allows rotation about a single axis

ex. atlas and axis

condyloid joints

allow angular motion in two planes and circumduction

ex. wrist

saddle joints

also allow angular motion in two planes and circumduction but not rotation

ex. base of thumb

ball and socket joint

allow for the widest range of motion

ex. shoulder and hip


-stretching or tearing of ligaments that reinforce joint
-very slow to heal (small blood supply)

partial tear-slow repair
completely ruptured-surgery needed

hyaline cartilage injury

-common in knee
-knee deals with repetitive mechanical force 65 times body weight

articular cartilage injury

-very hard to rebuild since it lack a blood supply (gets nutrition from synovial fluid
-lacks venous and lymphatic drainage


-bones forced out of their normal positions of joints
-common in shoulders, fingers and thumbs

treatment-bones simply put back to their original position


1) inflammation of bursa caused by excessive stress or friction
2) bacterial infection

prepattelar bursa

"housemaids knee", water on the knee
symptoms: redness, swelling, pain
treatment:-anti-inflammatory injections
-needle aspiration


inflammation of tendon sheaths
symptoms: redness, swelling, pain
treatment: anti-inflammatory injections
-needle aspiration


-degenerative joint disease
-diminishes articular cartilage
-most common chronic arthritis
-forms bony spurs
common in fingers, cervical & lumbar spine, knee and hips
slow and irreversible

Rheumatoid Arthritis

-chronic inflammatory disorder
-more common in females
-autoimmune disease
1)body attacks itself eventually causing abnormal tissue
2) abnormal tissue erodes cartilage; scar tissue forms and connects the 2 bones which can ossify


when the scar tissue ossifies together from RA

Gouty Arthristis

-uric acid deposited in soft tissue joints
-genetic in males
common in base of big toe and bone ends fuse

avoid: liver, kidneys, and sardines

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