Question

define ball and socket joint

Answer 1

a natural or manufactured joint or coupling, such as the hip joint, in which a partially spherical end lies in a socket, allowing multidirectional movement and rotation.

Answer 2

a joint in which the rounded surface of a bone moves within a depression on another bone, allowing greater freedom of movement than any other kind of joint.


It is most highly developed in the large shoulder and hip joints of mammals, including humans, in which it provides swing for the arms and legs in various directions and also spin of those limbs upon the more stationary bones.