Free Joints MCQs with Answers

1. The hip joint is an example of a

• A. hinge joint
• B. ball and socket joint
• C. pivot joint
• D. gliding joint

Explanation: The rounded head of the femur sits in the cup shaped acetabulum, which allows movement in all planes plus rotation, the widest range any joint provides. The shoulder is the other ball and socket joint and is even more mobile, but is therefore more easily dislocated because its socket is shallower. A hinge joint such as the elbow moves in one plane only.

2. Which joint allows movement in one plane only?

• A. Elbow
• B. Shoulder
• C. Hip
• D. Wrist

Explanation: The elbow is a hinge joint, so it permits flexion and extension but no rotation, in the same way as the knee and the joints of the fingers. The shoulder and hip are ball and socket joints moving in every plane, and the wrist is a condyloid joint allowing movement in two planes. Restricting a joint to one plane is what makes it stable enough to bear load.

3. Rotation of the head from side to side, as in saying no, occurs at the

• A. knee joint
• B. shoulder joint
• C. joint between the skull and the atlas
• D. joint between the atlas and the axis

Explanation: The atlas rotates around the odontoid process of the axis, and this pivot joint carries the skull with it. The joint between the skull and the atlas is the tempting answer, but that one is a hinge type movement giving the nodding of yes, not rotation. Damage at this level is dangerous because the spinal cord passes through both vertebrae.

4. The function of synovial fluid is

• A. to lubricate the joint and nourish the articular cartilage
• B. to produce red blood cells
• C. to store calcium for the body
• D. to carry nerve impulses across the joint

Explanation: Synovial fluid is secreted by the synovial membrane into the joint cavity, where it reduces friction between the cartilage surfaces and absorbs shock, and since articular cartilage has no blood supply the fluid also delivers its oxygen and nutrients. Red cell formation happens in red bone marrow and calcium is stored in the bone matrix, neither of which is a role of the fluid.

5. The cartilage that covers the articulating surfaces of bones in a synovial joint is

• A. fibrous cartilage
• B. elastic cartilage
• C. calcified cartilage
• D. hyaline cartilage

Explanation: Hyaline cartilage is smooth, glassy and slightly compressible, so it lets bone ends slide over each other with very little friction while cushioning the load. Fibrous cartilage is tougher and appears where shock absorption matters more than smoothness, as in the intervertebral discs and the menisci of the knee. Elastic cartilage supports the pinna of the ear and the epiglottis.

6. Synovial joints are characterized by

• A. No movement
• B. Presence of synovial fluid
• C. Cartilage only
• D. Fibrous capsule only

Explanation: Synovial joints (freely movable) contain synovial fluid for lubrication and nutrition of articular cartilage.

7. Ligaments connect

• A. Muscle to bone
• B. Bone to bone
• C. Muscle to muscle
• D. Cartilage to cartilage

Explanation: Ligaments connect bone to bone, providing joint stability. Tendons connect muscle to bone.

8. The joints which cause rotational movements are

• A. Hinge
• B. Ball and Socket
• C. Cartilage
• D. Sutures

Explanation: A ball and socket joint such as the shoulder or hip allows movement in every plane including rotation, because the rounded head can turn freely within its cup. A hinge joint like the elbow is restricted to one plane and permits no rotation at all. Sutures between the skull bones are immovable and cartilaginous joints allow only slight movement.

9. The pubic symphysis is a slightly moveable joint joined by which of the following tissue?

• A. Elastic cartilage
• B. Fibrocartilage
• C. Costal cartilage
• D. Articular cartilage

Explanation: Fibrocartilage is tough and compressible, which suits a slightly movable joint that must bear load, and it is the same tissue found in the intervertebral discs and the menisci of the knee. Articular cartilage is the smooth hyaline layer covering bone ends in freely movable joints. Elastic cartilage supports the pinna of the ear and costal cartilage joins the ribs to the sternum.

10. Which type of joint is present in pubis?

• A. Fibrous joints
• B. Immoveable joints
• C. Cartilaginous joints
• D. Freely moveable joints

Explanation: The pubic symphysis is a cartilaginous joint, its two bones joined by a pad of fibrocartilage that allows slight movement, which becomes important during childbirth when the ligaments soften. Fibrous joints such as the skull sutures allow no movement at all, and freely movable synovial joints have a fluid filled cavity. Cartilaginous joints sit between these two extremes.