Gliding joints, also called plane joints, have flat articular surfaces that allow movement in all different directions. (There are eight carpal bones in the wrist: scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, pisiform, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate.)

Synovial joints contain a synovial cavity that contains synovial fluid. This joint structure allows for many different types of movement. Neither cartilaginous nor fibrous joints contain fluid-filled cavities.

The radiocarpal or wrist joint is a condylar synovial joint because the radius has a concave surface, and the carpals have a convex surface. The joint connects the radius with the scaphoid, lunate, and triquetrum.

These are all types of synovial joints, defined by their apparent shapes and mechanisms of motion. For example, the knee is a hinge joint, which allows flexion and extension along a single axis, but not adduction or rotation.

Diarthroses like the elbow and knee allow free movement. Amphiarthroses allow slight movement and are found in areas where flexibility is needed, but a lot of flexibility would be unwanted such as the vertebral joints. Synarthroses allow no movement. The sutures of the skull are an example.

Syndesmosis joints are held together by bands of connective tissue (ligaments), but lack the synovial fluid and capsule structure of a synovial joint. This limits their mobility; while some motion between the bones is possible, the joint is fairly rigid. The inferior (or distal) tibiofibular joint is a syndesmosis in which the tibia and fibula are connected near the ankle. Damage to this joint is known as a high ankle sprain.

Cartilaginous joints encompass the classifications of synchondroses and symphyses. Synchondroses are cartilaginous joints in which bones are joined by hyaline cartilage, while symphyses are joined by fibrocartilage. The pubic symphysis is a cartilaginous joint that connects the pelvic bones via fibrocartilage.

Synovial joints are surrounded by a joint capsule, which holds the joint in a matrix of synovial fluid. This fluid provides the joint with lubrication for a wide range of motion. Many of the joints commonly associated with movement and locomotion are synovial joints. The intercarpal joints, found between the bones of the wrist, are synovial joints.

Ball and socket joints, such as the glenohumeral joint in the shoulder and acetabulofemoral joint in the hip, allow for the widest range of movement.

Synchondroses are joints connecting two bones by a band of cartilage. Commonly, this type of joint is found at the ends of developing long bones between the diaphysis and epiphyses, where a thin band of cartilage is responsible for bone growth during intramembranous ossification. This joint eventually fuses as growth ends. In contrast, the ribs are connected to the sternum via permanent synchondrosis joints: the costochondral joint, which joins the rib and the cartilage band, and the sternocostal joint, joining the cartilage and the sternum.

Condylar or ellipsoid joints involve one bone that is concave and one bone that is convex. The metacarpophalangeal joints of the knuckles, as well as the wrist joint, are both condylar. As for the other bones of the hand, the intercarpal joints are gliding and the interphalangeal joints are hinge.

The atlantoaxial joint connects the C1 vertebra (atlas) and the C2 vertebra (axis). This joint allows for side-to-side turning of the head, classifying it as a pivot joint. The atlantoaxial joint has the greatest range of motion of any intervetebral joints in the body.

The humeroulnar joint is a a hinge joint (the elbow), capable of flexion and extension in a single plane. The sternoclavicular joint is a saddle joint joining the medial end of the clavicle to the sternum. The acromioclavicular joint is a gliding joint joining the distal end of the clavicle to the acromion process of the scapula. The glenohumeral joint is a ball and socket joint securing the proximal end fo the humerus to the glenoid fossa of the scapula.