Ball and socket joint

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
Dorlands/Elsevier	a_64/12161549

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. In a ball and socket (or spheroid) joint, the ball-shaped surface of one bone fits into the cuplike depression of another. Movements possible are flexion-extension, abduction-adduction, rotation (triaxial) and circumduction. The ball and socket joint is a movable joint, that consists of one bone that is rounded and that fits within a cuplike bone.

Examples of this form of articulation are found in the hip and shoulder.

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.