The connection between bones is made through articulations or joints, which may have the following functions, depending on the skeletal structure involved: to allow a degree of mobility, to prevent friction between bones, and, depending on the joint type, to absorb impact. Different articulations present different types of movement, such as gliding, pivotal, or hinge-types movement, or combined hinge-and-gliding, and ball-and-socket movements. The three main types of articulations are fibrous joints, synovial joints, and cartilaginous joints. In humans, the main articulated joints are found in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, phalanges, feet, ankles, hip, and pelvis.

Fibrous and cartilaginous articulations connect bones through the juxtaposition of ligaments (either conjunctive tissue or cartilage), which are fixed on both connecting bones. Fibrous joints are found between cranial bones, between the roots of teeth and the adjacent alveolar walls, and between bones a great distance...