Anatomy study note · Upper limb

Acromioclavicular joint

A synovial plane joint between the acromion of the scapula and the lateral end of the clavicle. Its strength comes from the coracoclavicular ligament, which suspends the scapula and the whole limb from the clavicle.

Key points

• Synovial plane joint: acromion + lateral clavicle.
• Coracoclavicular ligament (conoid + trapezoid) carries the weight of the limb.
• Nerve: suprascapular.
• Shoulder separation = torn coracoclavicular ligament.
• Joint: from mesenchyme between bone ends.
• Synovial cavity forms in the middle layer.
• Synovial membrane: type A (phagocytic) + type B (secretory) cells.
• Joint surfaces: hyaline cartilage, no perichondrium.

The full note in the atlas also covers

Relations · Features · Action · Nerve supply · Histology · Development · Clinical notes

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Written from

• Snell’s Clinical Anatomy by Regions, 10th ed., ch. 3, PDF pp. 398–400
• Inderbir Singh’s Human Embryology, ch. 10, PDF p. 144
• BRS Cell Biology & Histology, 7th ed., ch. 7, PDF pp. 117–120, 131

More from the upper limb

• Adductor pollicis
• Anconeus
• Axillary artery
• Axillary lymph nodes
• Axillary nerve
• Axillary vein
• Basilic vein
• Biceps brachii
• Brachial artery
• Brachial plexus
• Brachialis
• Brachioradialis

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