Sternoclavicular Joint – Joints of Upper Limb

00:00 In this lecture, we’re going to look at the joints of the upper limb. So we’ll look at their articulations, we’ll look at the ligaments that support the joints, and then we’ll look at some of the movements that are capable of being performed at these joints.

00:15 We’ll look at the sternoclavicular, the acromioclavicular, the glenohumeral, and the elbow joints. We’ll look at the proximal and distal radio-ulnar joints. We’ll then look at the wrist, carpal, carpometacarpal, metacarpophalangeal, and interphalangeal joints.

00:33 We’ll look at these last few joints all together really as the joints of the hand.

00:39 So let’s start with the sternoclavicular joint. And on the screen, we can see an anterior view of the sternoclavicular joint that is occurring between the sternum which we can see here in the midline and the two clavicles, the sternal ends of the clavicles. Now, the joint capsule around all of these joints, there’s going to be a joint capsule. For this one, it actually contains an articular disc. So here, we can see the sternal end of the clavicle.

01:10 Here, we can see the articular surface of the sternum, specifically the manubrium of the sternum. The manubrium of the sternum, remember, is the most superior part.

01:22 And within the joint capsule, there is an articular disc, and this separates the capsule into two. The articular disc is important as a shock absorber. Remember, the clavicle is the only attachment of the upper limb, the superior appendicular skeleton to the axial skeleton. So it can transmit a quite heavy load of force. Attached to the anterior and posterior sternoclavicular ligaments, we can see we’ve got an anterior sternoclavicular ligament here. On the posterior side, there’ll be a posterior sternoclavicular ligament, and this shock absorber, this articular disc is attached to them via the joint capsule. This is a very strong joint, an incredibly strong joint. And in fact, the clavicle is more prone to breaking than this joint being dislocated, a very strong joint. We can then return to the anterior and posterior sternoclavicular ligaments, which we can see here, the anterior. So here we’ve got a section through the joint capsule. And here, we’re just looking at it as if it was intact. We’ve got the anterior sternoclavicular joint, and this reinforces the joint capsule. Superiorly here, the joint is reinforced by the interclavicular ligament, and this helps to hold the two sternal ends of the clavicle to the manubrium of the sternum. So, a very solid joint. We also have the costoclavicular ligament. And here, we can see the costoclavicular ligament. It connects the sternal end of the clavicle to the first rib. So here we can see the first rib coming away here. And connecting the first rib to the sternal end of the clavicle is the costoclavicular ligament. And this prevents excessive superior movement of the clavicle. The first rib is relatively static. So this will anchor superior movement of the clavicle. Movements at the sternoclavicular joints are multiple. It can be moved in multiple directions. It can be anteriorly, posteriorly, inferiorly, and also a limited degree of superior movement.