What is a shoulder joint?
A joint is a place where the ends of two bones make contact with each other to allow motion. Your shoulder is made up of two joints that connect the three bones of your shoulder together with soft tissue, muscle, tendons, ligaments and cartilage.
The three bones in your shoulder are your:
- Shoulder blade (scapula).
- Collarbone (clavicle).
- Upper arm bone (humerus).
Because of the motion of these three bones at your shoulder joint, the arm can be moved to position the elbow and hand.
What two joints make up the shoulder joint?
The two joints that make up your shoulder joint are:
The acromioclavicular joint : The acromioclavicular joint joins the top of your shoulder blade (acromion) and your collarbone together.
The glenohumeral joint : The glenohumeral joint joins the rounded top of your upper arm bone into your shoulder blade (glenoid cavity of the scapula).
