Gliding Joints

Description: A gliding joint is a synovial joint in which the bony surfaces that the joint holds together are flat, or only slightly rounded. (A synovial joint is the living material that holds two or more bones together but also permits these bones to move relative to each other.) A more precise interpretation of the international Latin anatomical term for the gliding joint would be "joint that joins flat bony surfaces." The wrists have good examples of gliding joints (as well as joints of other types).