Knee, elbow, and finger joints are all examples of hinge joints. Hinge joints are protected by cartilage and synovial fluid, a gel that assists with lubricating motion in the body.

Hinge joints allow bones to move in one direction back and forth, much like the hinge on a door. This article looks at their anatomy and function and includes an interactive diagram.

It is a hinge joint, so like the hinges of a door, it’s meant to open and close in one direction. Other examples of this type of joint include joints in your knees and knuckles.

Hinge joints allow flexion and extension only. Flexion – bending a joint. This occurs when the angle of a joint decreases. For example, the elbow flexes when performing a biceps curl. The knee ...

Unlike hinge joints, such as those between the bones in your fingers, saddle joints have a much greater range of motion than a simple backward-and-forward movement.

Learn how the skeleton moves at its joints with help from muscles, including examples of hinge, pivot, and ball and socket joints. Adult and embryonic stem cells.