Interphalangeal joint of a finger · Hinge (synovial)
Pubic symphysis · Symphysis (cartilaginous)
Hip joint · Ball-and-socket (synovial)
Knee joint · Hinge (synovial)
Distal tibiofibular joint · Syndesmosis (fibrous)
Ankle joint (talocrural) · Hinge (synovial)
Intertarsal joint · Plane (synovial)
Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.
Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a joint is answered.
Coronal suture(joint type: Suture (fibrous))Joins the frontal bone to the two parietal bones. Every skull bone except the mandible is joined to its neighbors by seams like this one, and in an adult they barely move.
Tooth in its socket(joint type: Gomphosis (fibrous))A joint between a bone and a tooth. A tooth is not bone. Short bands called the periodontal ligament anchor the root of each tooth in a socket of the maxilla or the mandible.
Atlanto-occipital joint(joint type: Condyloid (synovial))The two occipital condyles of the skull rock on the atlas (C1). This is a matching pair of joints. They give the nod for yes: forward and back, with a slight tilt to each side.
Atlantoaxial joint(joint type: Pivot (synovial))The atlas turns around the dens when you shake your head no. The dens, a peg on the axis (C2), stands inside the ring of the atlas (C1), held there by a ligament.
Chest and shoulder: 7 joints 7
Acromioclavicular joint(joint type: Plane (synovial))The outer end of the clavicle meets the acromion. That is the flat shelf of the scapula at the summit of the shoulder.
Shoulder joint (glenohumeral)(joint type: Ball-and-socket (synovial))No joint in the body moves more freely. The price is stability. The head of the humerus rests against the glenoid cavity of the scapula, a socket only about one third of its size.
Sternoclavicular joint(joint type: Saddle (synovial))The inner end of the clavicle meets the manubrium. Nowhere else does a bone of the shoulder girdle join a bone of the trunk.
First sternocostal joint(joint type: Synchondrosis (cartilaginous))The first rib's costal cartilage is fixed straight onto the manubrium. There is no joint cavity, so it does not move. The joints of ribs 2 to 7 below it are synovial.
Second sternocostal joint(joint type: Plane (synovial))A small synovial joint with nearly flat surfaces. The costal cartilage meets the sternum at such a joint from the second rib to the seventh. Only the first rib is fixed by cartilage alone.
Costochondral joint(joint type: Synchondrosis (cartilaginous))The front end of each rib joins straight onto its costal cartilage. That is a bar of hyaline cartilage. The joint keeps that cartilage for life: it does not turn to bone with age, and it does not move.
Intervertebral disc(joint type: Symphysis (cartilaginous))A thick disc of fibrocartilage. It binds the bodies of two neighboring vertebrae firmly together. Each disc gives only a little, and it cushions the spine during lifting and impact.
Arm and hand: 8 joints 8
Elbow joint (humeroulnar)(joint type: Hinge (synovial))The pulley-shaped trochlea of the humerus sits in the ulna's trochlear notch. So the forearm can only bend and straighten. Three joints share the one capsule of the elbow.
Proximal radioulnar joint(joint type: Pivot (synovial))The head of the radius turns inside a ring. The radial notch of the ulna and the annular ligament make the ring. That turn is what lets the palm face up or down.
Interosseous membrane of the forearm(joint type: Syndesmosis (fibrous))A sheet of fibrous tissue. It ties the shaft of the radius to the shaft of the ulna. The sheet gives enough for the radius to turn the palm over, and forearm muscles attach to it.
Wrist joint (radiocarpal)(joint type: Condyloid (synovial))The radius meets the scaphoid, lunate and triquetrum. So does a pad of fibrocartilage beside it. The hand bends forward and back and tilts from side to side here. The ulna touches no carpal bone directly.
Intercarpal joint(joint type: Plane (synovial))The carpal bones meet at small joints with nearly flat surfaces. So each bone can only slide a short way. Ligaments and the neighboring bones limit every slide.
First carpometacarpal joint(joint type: Saddle (synovial))The trapezium meets the first metacarpal. Each surface curves both ways, which gives the thumb two planes of movement and lets it swing across the palm to meet the fingers.
Metacarpophalangeal joint (knuckle)(joint type: Condyloid (synovial))A metacarpal's rounded head meets the base of a proximal phalanx. A finger bends and straightens here and also spreads sideways, which makes two planes of movement.
Interphalangeal joint of a finger(joint type: Hinge (synovial))Two phalanges meet here. The joint bends and straightens and does nothing else, in the fingers and in the toes. A finger has two of these joints and the thumb has one.
Hip and leg: 6 joints 6
Pubic symphysis(joint type: Symphysis (cartilaginous))Where the two hip bones meet in front, on the midline. A pad of fibrocartilage fills the narrow gap between the right and the left pubis, and it gives only slightly.
Hip joint(joint type: Ball-and-socket (synovial))The head of the femur sits in the hip bone's acetabulum. A rim of fibrocartilage, the acetabular labrum, makes the deep socket deeper still, which favors stability over range.
Knee joint(joint type: Hinge (synovial))The largest joint of the body. The two condyles of the femur rest on the tibia, and the patella glides on the front of the femur: three joints in one capsule. It can also rotate a little when bent.
Distal tibiofibular joint(joint type: Syndesmosis (fibrous))The lower ends of the tibia and the fibula are bound together. Fibrous tissue binds them, and so do a ligament in front and one behind. The bond holds the talus firmly between the two bones at the ankle.
Ankle joint (talocrural)(joint type: Hinge (synovial))The foot can only point up or down here. The talus fits between the lower end of the tibia, its medial malleolus and the lateral malleolus of the fibula. Turning the sole in or out happens lower down.
Intertarsal joint(joint type: Plane (synovial))The tarsal bones meet each other at joints with nearly flat surfaces. The one between the talus and the calcaneus, the subtalar joint, is where the sole turns in and out.
How this list was compiled: Joints, types and detail lines were checked on 2026-09-19 against OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, chapter 9 (https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/9-4-synovial-joints), and the English Wikipedia articles on single joints, among them https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibrous_joint. Corrections made on 2026-09-20 were checked on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrist, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tooth and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoulder_girdle. Every joint and its type was checked again on 2026-09-30 against OpenStax chapter 9, sections 9.1 to 9.4 and 9.6, and a second source: the English Wikipedia article on each joint, among them https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costochondral_joint and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plane_joint, and for the carpal and tarsal joints Gray's Anatomy, 1918, Classification of Joints (https://theodora.com/anatomy/classification_of_joints.html). Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced and no plate copied. The shafts of the femur, tibia and fibula are shortened by zigzag breaks, so the leg is not to scale. Licence: own work
How it works
This articulations anatomy quiz asks for two answers at 25 joints: the name, then the type. Four figures hold them: skull and neck, chest and shoulder, arm and hand, hip and leg. The 11 types run from suture to ball-and-socket.
Read the full guide
Two answers at every ring
A ring lights up on one figure at a time. Name the joint from 4 choices, then its type. A question is right only when both answers are, and a wrong answer shows both. Find it, under More options, names a joint to tap and never asks the type.
Drill one figure or one class
Rings 1 to 4 are on the skull and neck, 5 to 11 on the chest and shoulder, 12 to 19 on the arm and hand, 20 to 25 on the hip and leg. Under Start from, Fibrous and cartilaginous joints: 8 asks the joints with no cavity. Study gives both answers for every ring.
Courses expect the type with the name. Decide fibrous, cartilaginous or synovial first, then the type inside that class.
The first rib's cartilage is fixed to the sternum as a synchondrosis. Ribs 2 to 7 meet it at small synovial plane joints.
Hip and shoulder are the only ball-and-socket joints. Wrist and knuckles are condyloid, and the base of the thumb is a saddle.
Questions and answers
What are the types of joints in anatomy?
By structure there are three classes. Fibrous joints are sutures, syndesmoses and gomphoses. Cartilaginous joints are synchondroses and symphyses. Synovial joints have a cavity and come in six types: plane, hinge, pivot, condyloid, saddle and ball-and-socket. This quiz asks all 11.
Is an articulation the same as a joint?
Yes. Articulation is the textbook word for a joint: any place where two bones meet, or a bone meets cartilage or a tooth. Typed answers take everyday names: knuckle counts for metacarpophalangeal joint.
Is there an unlabeled joints diagram to print?
Yes. Under More options, the blank print has all four figures with rings numbered 1 to 25, and asks for each joint and then its type. The labeled print is the key, with the type beside each joint.
Why does the jaw joint have no ring?
The temporomandibular joint hinges and glides at once, so none of the six synovial types is the one right answer. It is drawn but never asked. The facet joints of the spine are missing too: they are hidden in a front view.