Question

Ankle, knee and elbow joints are
A. Pivot joints
B. Ellipsoid joints
C. Hinge joints
D. Synovial joints

Answer 1

Hint: Ankle, knee and elbow joints are the joints where the convex part of one bone fits into a concave part of another bone and the motion in only one plane is allowed. So find the name of this type of joint and that will be our answer.

Complete answer:
We are given to find what ankle, knee and elbow joints are.
Pivot bones hold the two bones together by joining to each other. Some examples of pivot joints are near the elbow, wrist and neck.
Ellipsoid joint is an oval shaped joint and one bone fits into the elliptical cavity of the other bone. These joints allow biaxial movements (forward and backward), from side to side but not rotation. These are found near the wrist.
Synovial joints are found near the foot where bones meet end-to-end. These joints allow the bones to flex and move while being rigid to hold the body. Some examples are shoulder, knee, wrist and neck.
Hinge joint is a type of synovial joint that includes ankle, knee and elbow joints. These are formed between two or more bones where the bones are allowed to move along only one axis to flex. In hinge joints, the bones are able to flex to decrease the angle present between them. Very little body weight and mechanical force is exerted on these joints.

So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Note:
A hinge joint is a type of synovial joint so we can say that all hinge joints are synovial joints but all synovial joints are not hinge. Do not confuse the hinge joint with a ball and socket joint. In the ball and socket joint, the rounded head of one bone is put in the cup of another bone, such as the shoulder joint where movement is allowed in all directions but whereas in hinge joints two bones open and close in only one direction such as the knee joint.