Joints: classification, types of synovial joints
Human Anatomy · MBBS
Animal cell explorer
Interactive 3DPeek inside an animal cell — pick an organelle to highlight it and learn its job.
Controls
Drag the sliders or type a value — the simulation updates live.
Study notes
The knee bends only forward-backward like a door hinge, but the shoulder swings in circles. The knee is a hinge synovial joint — one axis of movement (flexion/extension). The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint — the round humeral head rotates inside the glenoid cavity, allowing movement in all planes. More mobility means less stability: that's why shoulders dislocate far more often than knees.
Related topics
- General anatomy: anatomical terms and planes
- Bones: classification, structure, ossification
- Muscles: types, structure, actions
- Upper limb: pectoral region, axilla, arm, forearm, hand
- Lower limb: gluteal region, thigh, leg, foot, arches
- Thorax: thoracic wall, lungs, pleura, mediastinum, heart, great vessels