Ball and socket joint facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ball and socket joint
1: Ball and socket joint; 2: Condyloid joint (Ellipsoid); 3: Saddle joint; 4 Hinge joint; 5: Pivot joint;
Capsule of shoulder-joint (distended). Anterior aspect.

A ball and socket joint (enarthrosis, spheroidal joint) is a joint in which the ball-shaped surface of a bone fits into the cup-like indentation of another bone. This type of joint allows the bone to move in a 360° angle—with more freedom than other joints.

Examples

Examples of this type of joint occur:

• in the hip, where the rounded head of the femur (ball) rests in the cup-like acetabulum (socket) of the pelvis.
• in the glenohumeral joint of the shoulder, where the rounded head of the humerus (ball) rests in the cup-like glenoid fossa (socket) of the shoulder blade.

Other images

• 

  Hip

• 

  Shoulder

See also

In Spanish: Enartrosis para niños