types of joints

Question 1

what is a ball and socket joint / functions / structure, give and example

Answer 1

• allow joint rotation in 360 degrees
• ball and socket covered ENTIRELY by layer of cartilage
• between bones of joints is synovial fluid

e.g hip or shoulder

Question 2

what is a hinge joint / functions / structure, give and example

Answer 2

• allow movement like a level in 180 degrees
• ENDS of bones in joint covered by cartilage
• synovial fluid between bones of joint
• muscles work in pairs to contract and relax to move joint

e.g elbow

Question 3

what is a fixed joint / functions / structure, give and example

Answer 3

• fibrous/fixed joints form between 2 bits of bone and DO NOT MOVE
• cannot grow, get bigger or smaller as it is fuses bone

e.g joints formed from fusion of skull bone

Question 4

what is a pivot joint / functions / structure, give and example

Answer 4

• allow bones to rotate around each other by 360 degrees (in horizontal plane)
• ends of bones covered by cartilage
• synovial fluid between bones

e.g neck

Question 5

why can our neck not rotate 360 degrees despite having a pivot joint

Answer 5

• our neck muscles limit how far it’ll rotate

Question 6

what are ligaments

Answer 6

• type of connective tissue that connect bone to bone

Question 7

how do ligaments allow movement / how is its structure related to fuction

Answer 7

• ligaments are elastic and stretchy allowing bone to move where it needs to whilst keeping bone aligned
• if ligaments weren’t stretchy, it would snap each time we bend a joint

Question 8

when we tear a ligament, the connective tissue is damaged and causes pain when we move the joint

Question 9

what are tendons

Answer 9

• type of connective tissue connecting muscle to bone

Question 10

how is tendon structure related to function

Answer 10

• not elastic and not stretchy, allows muscles to pull up on a bone
• very tough and strong to hold powerful muscles to strong bones

Question 11

if tendons were stretchy when a muscle contracted to move a joint it would stretch the tendon and the joint wouldn’t move

Question 12

what is cartilage + function

Answer 12

• strong and spongy tissue
• reduced friction to protect bones when moving joints

Question 13

what is synovial fluid + function

Answer 13

• fills space between ends of bones in joint
• acts as lubricant in joint making movement smooth and free of friction
• acts as shock absorber, important during high pressure on joints e.g exercise