Question

Highlight the key structural characteristics of the Hip joint with reference too; Type of joint, what the joint is made up of, cartilage and ligamentous support, primary and secondary movements

Answer 1

Hip joint is synovial joint and it is a type of ball and socket joint. Hip joint connects the pelvic girdle to the lower limb i.e femur. Hip joint consists of head of femur and cup like structure of pelvis which is called as acetabulum. Head of Femur forms the ball and acetabulum forms the socket hence hip joint is a ball and socket joint. Hip articular hyaline cartilage is present at the joint which allows the surface of femoral head and acetabulum to glide against each other as it is a slippery and flexible substance. The hip joint has four ligaments. Out of four ligaments, three ligaments are extracapsular ligaments namely iliofemoral (attached to ilium of pelvis), ischiofemoral (attached to ischium of pelvis) and pubofemoral ligaments (attached to pubis of pelvis). The fourth ligament is intracapsular ligament namely ligamentum teres which is attached to the depression present in acetabulum and femoral head. All these ligaments help in movement of joint and it also provides support to the joint. Three types of movement is offered by hip joint i.e 1) flexion and extension of hip which moves the leg back and forth, 2) abduction and adduction of hip which moves the leg outward and inward and 3) rotation of hip.