_Comparative Anatomy._--The joint between the temporal and mandibular
bones is only found in Mammals; in the lower vertebrates the jaw opens
between the quadrate and articular bones. In the Carnivora it is a
perfect hinge; in many Rodents only the antero-posterior gliding
movement is present; while in the Ruminants the lateralizing movement
is the chief one. Sometimes, as in the Ornithorhynchus, the meniscus
is absent.
_Joints of the Upper Extremity._
The _sterno-clavicular articulation_, between the presternum and
clavicle, is a gliding joint, and allows slight upward and downward and
forward and backward movements. The two bony surfaces are separated by a
meniscus, the vertical movements taking place outside and the
antero-posterior inside this. There is a well-marked capsule, of which
the anterior part is strongest. The two clavicles are joined across the
top of the presternum by an _interclavicular ligament_.
The _acromio-clavicular articulation_ is also a gliding joint, but
allows a swinging or pendulum movement of the scapula on the clavicle.
The upper part of the capsule is strongest, and from it hangs down a
partial meniscus into the cavity.
_Comparative Anatomy._--Bland Sutton regards the interclavicular
ligament as a vestige of the interclavicle of Reptiles and Monotremes.
The menisci are only found in the Primates, but it must be borne in
mind that many Mammals have no clavicle, or a very rudimentary one. By
some the meniscus of the sterno-clavicular joint is regarded as the
homologue of the lateral part of the interclavicle, but the fact that
it only occurs in the Primates where movements in different planes are
fairly free is suggestive of a physiological rather than a
morphological origin for it.
The SHOULDER JOINT is a good example of the ball and socket or
enarthrodial variety. Its most striking characteristic is mobility at
the expense of strength. The small size of the glenoid cavity in
comparison with the head of the humerus, and the great laxity of the
capsule, favour this, although the glenoid cavity is slightly deepened
by a fibrous lip, called the _glenoid ligament_, round its margin. The
presence of the coracoid and acromial processes of the scapula, with the
_coraco-acromial ligament_ between them, serves as an overhanging
protection to the joint, while the biceps tendon runs over the head of
the humerus, inside the capsule, though surrounded by a sheath of
synovial membrane. Were it not for these two extra safeguards the
shoulder would be even more liable to dislocation than it is. The upper
part of the capsule, which is attached to the base of the coracoid
process, is thickened, and known as the _coracohumeral ligament_, while
inside the front of the capsule are three folds of synovial membrane,
called _gleno-humeral folds_.
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