Erbil polytechnic university

Erbil health technical collage

Physiotherapy department
2020_2021

Report About:

Supervised By:

Dr. Aza Ismail Abdi

Prepared By:

Esra Mohammed Pirbal

Zaid Masood Abdulqadir
Sumaya Abbas Khurshid
Kawshan Sardar Mohemmed

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Joint, in anatomy, a structure that separates two or more adjacent elements of the
skeletal system. Depending on the type of joint, such separated elements may or
may not move on one another. This article discusses the joints of the human
body—particularly their structure but also their ligaments, nerve and blood supply,
and nutrition. Although the discussion focuses on human joints, its content is
applicable to joints of vertebrates in general and mammals in particular.

For anatomists, the lower limb consists of the thigh (the upper leg), the leg (the
lower leg), and the foot. The thigh consists of a single bone, the femur. The leg
consists of two long bones, the tibia and fibula, and the sesamoid bone, the patella
that serves as the knee cap. The foot consists of 26 bones, which are grouped into
the tarsals, metatarsals, and phalanges.

The joints of free lower limb comprise the articulations

from lower extremity:

1. Hip
2. Knee
3. Tibiofibular
4. Ankle
5. Intertarsal
6. Tarsometatarsal
7. Intermetatarsal

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The hip joint is a ball and socket synovial joint, formed by an articulation between
the pelvic acetabulum and the head of the femur.

It forms a connection from the lower limb to the pelvic girdle, and thus is designed
for stability and weight-bearing – rather than a large range of movement.

Articulating Surfaces:

The hip joint consists of an articulation between the head of femur and
acetabulum of the pelvis.

The acetabulum is a cup-like depression located on the inferolateral aspect of the

pelvis. Its cavity is deepened by the presence of a fibrocartilaginous collar – the
acetabular labrum. The head of femur is hemispherical, and fits completely into the
concavity of the acetabulum.

Both the acetabulum and head of femur are covered in articular cartilage, which is
thicker at the places of weight bearing.

The hip joint is a ball and socket joint

Head of femur  ball shape

The acetabulum  socket shape

Together called ball and socket joint

Flexion, extension, abduction,

abduction, circumduction, medial and
lateral rotation

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The knee joint is a hinge type synovial joint, which mainly allows for flexion and
extension (and a small degree of medial and lateral rotation). It is formed by
articulations between the patella, femur and tibia.

Articulating Surfaces:

The knee joint consists of two articulations – tibiofemoral and patellofemoral.

The joint surfaces are lined with hyaline cartilage and are enclosed within a single
joint cavity.

 Tibiofemoral – medial and lateral condyles of the femur articulate with the
tibial condyles. It is the weight-bearing component of the knee joint.

 Patellofemoral – anterior aspect of the distal femur articulates with the

patella. It allows the tendon of the quadriceps femoris (knee extensor) to be
inserted directly over the knee – increasing the efficiency of the muscle.

Hinge joint  synovial joint

Flexion and extension

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The tibiofibular joints are a set of articulations that unite the tibia and fibula. These
two bones of the leg are connected via three junctions;

 The superior (proximal) tibiofibular joint - between the superior ends of tibia
and fibula

 The inferior (distal) tibiofibular joint - between their inferior ends

 The interosseous membrane of leg (middle tibiofibular joint) - connects their

shafts

Plane type  synovial joint

slight gliding movement, These movement s

occur in a superior-inferior direction, and
range to only a few degrees.

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The ankle joint (or talocrural joint) is a synovial joint located in the lower limb. It
is formed by the bones of the leg (tibia and fibula) and the foot (talus).

Functionally, it is a hinge type joint, permitting dorsiflexion and plantarflexion of

the foot.

The ankle joint is formed by three bones; the tibia and fibula of the leg, and the
talus of the foot:

The tibia and fibula are bound together by strong tibiofibular ligaments. Together,
they form a bracket shaped socket, covered in hyaline cartilage. This socket is
known as a mortise.

Hinge joint  synovial joint

Planter flexion, dorsiflexion, inversion,

eversion, medial and lateral rotation

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this joint located between the tarsal bones of foot .

The intertarsal joints are the different joints between the tarsal bones, including:

1. Talocalcaneocentral joint
2. Calcaneoquartal joint
3. Centrodistal joint

The tarsometatarsal joints (Lisfranc joints) are arthrodial joints in the foot. The
tarsometatarsal joints involve the first, second and third cuneiform bones, the
cuboid bone and the metatarsal bones.

The intertarsal joint are the joints of the tarsal bones in the foot. There are seven
specific inter tarsal joints (articulations) in the human foot:

 Subtalar joint
 Talocalcaneonavicular joint
 Calcaneocuboid joint
 Cuneonavicular joint
 Cuboideonavicular joint
 Intercuneiform joints

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1. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ap1x94x1/chapter/the-lower-
limbs/#:~:text=For%20anatomists%2C%20the%20lower%20limb,serves%2
0as%20the%20knee%20cap.
2. https://www.britannica.com/science/joint-skeleton
3. https://www.imaios.com/en/e-Anatomy/Anatomical-Parts/Joints-of-free-
lower-limb
4. https://teachmeanatomy.info/lower-limb/joints/hip-
joint/#:~:text=The%20hip%20joint%20is%20a,a%20large%20range%20of
%20movement.
5. https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/tibiofibular-joints