A symphysis (fibrocartilaginous joint) is a joint in which the body (physis) of one bone meets the body of another. All but two of the symphyses lie in the vertebral (spinal) column, and all but one contain fibrocartilage as a constituent tissue. The short-lived suture between the two halves of the mandible is called the symphysis menti (from the Latin mentum, meaning “chin”) and is the only symphysis devoid of fibrocartilage. All of the other symphyses are permanent.

The symphysis pubis joins the bodies of the two pubic bones of the pelvis. The adjacent sides of these bodies are covered by cartilage through which collagen fibres run from one pubis to the other. On their way they traverse a plate of cartilage, which in some instances (especially in the female) may contain a small cavity filled with fluid. Surrounding the joint and attached to the bones is a coat of fibrous tissue, particularly thick below (the subpubic ligament). The joint is flexible enough to act as a hinge that allows each of the two hip bones to swing a little upward and outward, as the ribs do during inspiration of air. This slight movement is increased in a woman during childbirth because of the infiltration of the joint and its fibrous coat by fluid toward the end of pregnancy; the fluid makes the joint even more flexible. In both sexes the joint acts as a buffer against shock transmitted to the pelvic bones from the legs in running and jumping.

The symphysis between the bodies of two adjacent vertebrae is called an intervertebral disk. It is composed of two parts: a soft centre (nucleus pulposus) and a tough flexible ring (anulus fibrosus) around it. The centre is a jellylike (mucoid) material containing a few cells derived from the precursor of the spine (notochord) of the embryo. The ring consists of collagen fibres arranged in concentric layers like those of an onion bulb. These fibres reach the adjacent parts of the vertebral bodies and are attached firmly to them.

There are 23 intervertebral disks, one between each pair of vertebrae below the first cervical vertebra, or atlas, and above the second sacral vertrebra (just above the tailbone). The lumbar (lower back) disks are thickest, the thoracic (chest or upper back) are thinnest, and the cervical are of intermediate size. These differences are associated with the function of the disks. In general, these disks have two functions: to allow movement between pairs of vertebrae and to act as buffers against shock caused by running, jumping, and other stresses applied to the spine.

If an intervertebral disk were the only joint between a pair of vertebrae, then one of these could move on the other in any direction; but each pair of vertebrae with an intervertebral disk also has a pair of synovial joints, one on each side of the vertebral (neural) arch. These joints limit the kinds of independent movement possible, so that the thoracic vertebrae move in only two directions and the lumbar in only three; only the cervical vertebrae below the atlas have full freedom of movement.

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All intervertebral disks allow approximation and separation of their adjacent vertebrae. This is caused partly by movement brought about by muscle action and partly by the weight of the head and the trunk transmitted to the pelvis when a person is upright. The effect of weight is of special importance. The mucoid substance in the centre of the disk behaves like a fluid. It is acted upon by the person’s weight and any other pressure forces transmitted along the spine. Therefore, the disk flattens from above downward and expands in all other directions. After arising in the morning and as the day progresses, a person decreases in height because of this compression of the disks. An average decrease of one millimetre in the height of each disk would mean an overall shortening of 2.3 centimetres, or about an inch. The spine lengthens again, of course, during sleep.

In the infant the greater part of the disk consists of the soft centre. Later the fibrous ring becomes relatively thicker in such a way that the soft part is nearer to the back of the disk. As middle age approaches, there is an increase in the fibrous element, the soft centre is reduced in size, and the amount of cartilage is increased. There is a tendency for the posterior part of the fibrous ring to degenerate in such a way that a sudden violent pressure may rupture the disk and allow the central part to protrude backward against the spinal cord; this condition is commonly referred to as slipped disk.

Cartilaginous joints

These joints, also called synchondroses, are the unossified masses between bones or parts of bones that pass through a cartilaginous stage before ossification. Examples are the synchondroses between the occipital and sphenoid bones and between the sphenoid and ethmoid bones of the floor of the skull. As already stated, these permit growth of the adjacent bones and act as virtual hinges at which the ethmoid and occipital bones swing upward upon the sphenoid; this allows backward growth of the nose and jaws during postnatal life. The juxta-epiphyseal plates separating the ossifying parts of a bone are also an example. Growth of the whole bone takes place at these plates when they appear, usually after birth. All synchondroses are transient, and all normally have vanished by the age of 25.

Structure and elements of synovial joints

The synovial bursas are closed, thin-walled sacs, lined with synovial membrane. Bursas are found between structures that glide upon each other, and all motion at diarthroses entails some gliding, the amount varying from one joint to another. The bursal fluid, exuded by the synovial membrane, is called synovia, hence the common name for this class of joints. Two or more parts of the bursal wall become cartilage (chondrify) during prenatal life. These are the parts of the bursa that are attached to the articulating bones, and they constitute the articular cartilage of the bones.

A synovial joint consists of a wall enclosing a joint cavity that is wholly filled with synovial fluid. The wall consists of two layers: an outer complete fibrous layer and an inner incomplete synovial layer. Parts of the outer layer are either chondrified as articular cartilages or partly ossified as sesamoid bones (small, flat bones developed in tendons that move over bony surfaces). Parts of the synovial layer project into the cavity to form fatty pads. In a few diarthroses the fibrous layer also projects inward to become intra-articular disks, or menisci. These various structures will be discussed in connection with the layer to which they belong.

Articular cartilage

Articular cartilage (cartilage that covers the articulating part of a bone) is of the type called hyaline (glasslike) because thin sections of it are translucent, even transparent. Unlike bone, it is easily cut by a sharp knife. It is deformable but elastic, and it recovers its shape quickly when the deforming stress is removed. These properties are important for its function.

The surface of articular cartilage is smooth to the finger, like that of a billiard ball. Images obtained by a scanning electron microscope have shown, however, that the surface is actually irregular, more like that of a golf ball. The part of the cartilage nearest to the bone is impregnated with calcium salts. This calcified layer appears to be a barrier to the passage of oxygen and nutrients to the cartilage from the bone, such that the cartilage is largely dependent upon the synovial fluid for its nourishment.

Every articular cartilage has two parts: a central articulating part and a marginal nonarticulating part. The marginal part is much smaller than the central and is covered by a synovial membrane. It will be described later in connection with that membrane.

The central part is either single, if only two bones are included in the joint, or divided into clearly distinct portions by sharp ridges, if more than two bones are included. Thus, the upper articular surface of the arm bone (humerus) is single, for only this bone and the shoulder blade (scapula) are included in the shoulder joint. The lower articular surface of the humerus is subdivided into two parts, one for articulation with the radius and one for articulation with the ulna, both being included in the elbow joint. There is a functional reason for the subdivision, or partition, of articular cartilage when it does occur.

Within a diarthrosis joint, bones articulate in pairs, each pair being distinguished by its own pair of conarticular surfaces. Conarticular surfaces constitute “mating pairs.” Each mating pair consists of a “male” surface and a “female” surface; the reasoning for these terms is explained below. As previously stated, there is only one such pair of bones within the shoulder joint; hence, there is only one pair of conarticular surfaces. There are two such pairs within the elbow joint—the humeroradial and humeroulnar. The radius moves on one of the two subdivisions of the lower humeral articular cartilage; the ulna moves on the other subdivision. There are then two pairs of conarticular surfaces within the elbow joint, even though there are only three bones in it.

Articular surfaces are divisible into two primary classes: ovoid and sellar. An ovoid surface is either convex in all directions or concave in all directions; in this respect it is like one or other of the two sides of a piece of eggshell, hence the name (ovum, egg). A sellar surface is convex in one direction and concave in the direction at right angles to the first; in this respect it is like the whole or part of a horse saddle (sella, saddle). There are no flat articular surfaces, although slightly curved ovoid or sellar surfaces may be classified as flat. Following an engineering convention, an ovoid surface is called “male” if it is convex, “female” if it is concave. In any diarthrosis having ovoid conarticular surfaces, the male surface is always of larger area than the female. For this reason the larger of two sellar conarticular surfaces is called male and the smaller female. The larger the difference in size between conarticular surfaces, the greater the possible amount of motion at the joint.

In all positions of a diarthrosis, except one, the conarticular surfaces fit imperfectly. This incongruence may not be large and may be lessened by mutual deformation of the opposed parts of the surfaces, a consequence of the deformability of articular cartilage. The exceptional position is called the close-packed position; in it the whole of the articulating portion of the female surface is in complete contact with the apposed part of the male surface, and the joint functionally is no longer a diarthrosis but is instead called a synchondrosis. Every joint has its close-packed position brought about by the action of the main ligaments of the joint. A good example is that of the wrist when the hand is fully bent backward (dorsiflexed) on the forearm. In closed-packed positions two bones in series are converted temporarily into a functionally single, but longer, unit that is more likely to be injured by sudden torsional stresses. Thus, a sprained or even fractured wrist usually occurs when that joint, when close packed, is suddenly and violently bent.

No articular surface is of uniform curvature; neither is it a “surface of revolution” such as a cylinder is. That part of a male conarticular surface that comes into contact with the female in close pack is both wider and of lesser curvature than is the remainder. Inspection of two articulating bones is enough to establish their position of close pack, flexion, extension, or whatever it may be.