HLTH1008 Chap.1 Anatomical Terms, Joints and Cartilage
Anatomical Terms, Joints and Cartilage
This chapter sets up the vocabulary the rest of the course depends on. It covers the planes of the body and the relational terms used to describe position, then classifies joints structurally as fibrous, cartilaginous or synovial and functionally as synarthrosis, amphiarthrosis or diarthrosis. Synovial joints are grouped by their axes, from plane joints to the multiaxial ball and socket.
The chapter closes with the three cartilage types, the seven bone shapes and a comparison of skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle. Each classification is given with the examples the course itself uses, so that short answers can quote them directly. The same vocabulary returns in every later chapter, so time spent here is repaid across the whole course.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Planes, axes and relational terms
- 02
Fibrous joints: suture, gomphosis, syndesmosis
- 03
Primary and secondary cartilaginous joints
- 04
Synovial joints by number of axes
- 05
Hyaline, elastic and fibrocartilage
- 06
Bone shapes and the axial skeleton
- 07
Skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle compared
Worked example · free
Classifying joints of the pelvis and spine
- +1Pubic symphysis: fibrocartilage pad between hyaline-covered bones, a secondary cartilaginous joint and an amphiarthrosis.
- +1Intervertebral joint: the same structure, the disc acting as the fibrocartilage pad, so also a symphysis.
- +1Sacrococcygeal joint: a secondary cartilaginous joint, the course's third symphysis example.
- +1Hip joint: capsule and synovial cavity, a multiaxial ball and socket and a diarthrosis.
Key terms
- Sagittal plane
- A vertical plane dividing the body into right and left parts.
- Syndesmosis
- A fibrous joint in which bones are joined by an interosseous membrane or ligament.
- Synchondrosis
- A primary cartilaginous joint united by hyaline cartilage alone.
- Diarthrosis
- A freely movable joint, the functional name for a synovial joint.
- Elastic cartilage
- Flexible cartilage found in the auricle and the epiglottis.
- Sesamoid bone
- A bone that develops within a tendon, such as the patella.
- Gomphosis
- A fibrous joint that anchors a tooth root in its socket.
- Pneumatic bone
- A bone containing air spaces, such as the maxilla or sphenoid.
- Fibrocartilage
- Tough cartilage built to resist compression, found in discs, menisci and labra.
Anatomical Terms, Joints and Cartilage FAQ
What is the difference between a primary and a secondary cartilaginous joint?
A primary cartilaginous joint, or synchondrosis, is joined only by hyaline cartilage, as in a growth plate or a costochondral joint. A secondary one, or symphysis, has a fibrocartilage pad between hyaline-covered bones, as in the pubic symphysis and the intervertebral joints.
How are synovial joints classified?
By the number of axes they move about. Plane joints glide; hinge and pivot joints are uniaxial; condyloid and saddle joints are biaxial; and the ball and socket joint is multiaxial. The hip is the course's main multiaxial example, with three rotational degrees of freedom.
Which cartilage type is found in the knee menisci?
Fibrocartilage, the type built to resist compression and tension. The course lists it in the intervertebral discs, the articular discs, the menisci and the glenoid and acetabular labra, while hyaline cartilage covers articular surfaces and elastic cartilage forms the auricle and epiglottis.
Which joint types does the course give as fibrous joints?
Sutures such as the sagittal and coronal sutures of the skull, the gomphosis between a tooth and its socket, and the syndesmosis, where an interosseous membrane binds the radius to the ulna or the tibia to the fibula. The course also places the back of the sacroiliac joint here.
How do skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle differ under the microscope?
Skeletal fibres are cylindrical, striated and carry many peripheral nuclei. Cardiac cells branch, are striated, have one central nucleus and meet at intercalated discs. Smooth muscle cells are spindle-shaped with a single nucleus and no striations, and only skeletal muscle is under voluntary control.
Exam move
Make a one-page table with three columns, fibrous, cartilaginous and synovial, and fill each with the subtypes and the course examples. Add the functional names beside each heading. Then test yourself on labelled pelvic X-ray and CT images, finding the hip joint, sacroiliac joint, pubic symphysis, an intervertebral disc and the triradiate cartilage.
Finish by sorting a list of cartilages into hyaline, elastic and fibrocartilage without notes. Repeat the table a week later from memory, adding a second example for every subtype, and practise the definitions of the three functional names until they come out in one line each.
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