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.
Latin	articulatio spheroidea
Gray's	subject #70 287

A ball and socket joint (enarthrosis, spheroidal joint) is a joint in which the distal bone is capable of motion around an indefinite number of axes, which have one common center. It enables the bone to move in a 360° angle.

In a ball and socket (spheroid) joint, the ball-shaped surface of one rounded bone fits into the cup-like depression of a muscle.

[edit] Examples

Examples of this form of articulation are found in the hip, where the rounded head of the femur (ball) rests in the cup-like acetabulum (socket) of the pelvis, and 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.^[1] It should be noted that the shoulder includes a second joint as well which is a saddle joint.

[edit] Additional images

Hip

Shoulder

[edit] References

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This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.