A synarthrosis is a type of

joint A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw ...

which allows no movement under normal conditions. Sutures and

gomphoses In anatomy, fibrous joints are joints connected by fibrous tissue, consisting mainly of collagen. These are fixed joints where bones are united by a layer of white fibrous tissue of varying thickness. In the skull the joints between the bones ar ...

are both synarthroses. Joints which allow more movement are called amphiarthroses or

diarthroses A synovial joint, also known as diarthrosis, joins bones or cartilage with a fibrous joint capsule that is continuous with the periosteum of the joined bones, constitutes the outer boundary of a synovial cavity, and surrounds the bones' articulat ...

. Syndesmoses joints are considered to be amphiarthrotic, because they allow a small amount of movement.

Types

They can be categorised by how the bones are joined together: *''

Gomphosis In anatomy, fibrous joints are joints connected by fibrous tissue, consisting mainly of collagen. These are fixed joints where bones are united by a layer of white fibrous tissue of varying thickness. In the skull the joints between the bones are ...

'' is the type of joint in which a conical peg fits into a socket, for example, the socket of a tooth. Normally, there is very little movement of the teeth in the mandible or maxilla. *''

Synostosis Synostosis (plural: synostoses) is fusion of two or more bones. It can be normal in puberty, fusion of the epiphyseal plate to become the epiphyseal line, or abnormal. When synostosis is abnormal it is a type of dysostosis. Examples of synostoses ...

'' is where two bones that are initially separated eventually fuse, essentially becoming one bone. In humans, as in other animals, the plates of the cranium fuse with dense fibrous connective tissue as a child approaches adulthood.Principles of Anatomy & Physiology, 12th Edition, Tortora & Derrickson, Pub: Wiley & Sons Children whose cranial plates fuse too early may suffer deformities and brain damage as the skull does not expand properly to accommodate the growing brain, a condition known as

craniostenosis Craniosynostosis is a condition in which one or more of the fibrous sutures in a young infant's skull prematurely fuses by turning into bone (ossification), thereby changing the growth pattern of the skull. Because the skull cannot expand perpe ...

. *''

Synchondrosis A synchondrosis (or primary cartilaginous joint) is a type of cartilaginous joint where hyaline cartilage completely joins together two bones. Synchondroses are different than symphyses (secondary cartilaginous joints) which are formed of fibroc ...

'' is a cartilaginous joint connected by hyaline cartilage, as seen in the

epiphyseal plate The epiphyseal plate (or epiphysial plate, physis, or growth plate) is a hyaline cartilage plate in the metaphysis at each end of a long bone. It is the part of a long bone where new bone growth takes place; that is, the whole bone is alive, wit ...

References

Joints {{musculoskeletal-stub