Question

Name the joint that enables the movement of the head from side to side.

Answer 1

A joint is the articulation between two bones in the body. It is broadly classified by the tissues which connect the bone.
The three types of joints are:
1. Synovial joint
2. Cartilaginous joint
3. Fibrous joint

Complete answer: The joint that enables the movement of the head from side to side is the pivot joint. The pivot joint is the type of joint where the neck and head are connected to each other. It helps us to bend our head forward and backward and turn the head to our right or left. A pivot joint is a synovial joint in which the terminal ends of two bones meet to one end acting as a central bony cylinder and the other end being a ring that is made of bone and ligament. In some types of joints, the cylinder rotates inside the ring. In other joints, the ring rotates around the cylinder.
Pivot joints rotate in two ways which can be-
1. External for example when rotating an arm outward
2. Internal for example as in rotating an arm inward.
Pronation and supination are types of movements when the forearm rotates. In the standard anatomical position, the forearms are supinated, which means that the palms are facing forward, and the thumbs are pointing away from the body. In contrast, a forearm in pronation would have the palm facing backward and the thumb would be closer to the body, pointing medially.

Note: Pivot joint includes:
1. Proximal radioulnar joint
2. Distal radioulnar joint
3. Median altano-axial joint
Spherical joints are known as ball and socket joints such as hip joint permit rotation and all other directional movements, while pivot joint permits rotation.