In this anatomy lesson, I’m going to demonstrate another body movement term called gliding.
What is Gliding in Anatomy?
What is gliding? Gliding occurs when the surfaces of bones slide past one another in a linear direction, but without significant rotary or angular movement.
An example of this movement is moving your hand back and forth (left to right) in a waving motion, which causes gliding to occur at the joints of the carpals (wrist bones). When you move your hand back and forth in a waving motion, it can help you remember that gliding joint movements primarily take place in the carpals of the wrist and the tarsals of the ankle.
However, gliding can also occur in the other plane joints (also called planar joints) of the body. Just as airplanes glide through the air, the plane joints of the body allow a gliding motion.
Other plane joints that allow gliding include the sacroiliac joint of the pelvis, the acromioclavicular joint of the shoulder, the femoropatellar joint, tibiofibular joint, sternocostal joints for ribs 2-7, vertebrocostal joints, and the intervertebral joints of the spine (at the articular processes).
Free Quiz and More Anatomy Videos
Take a free gliding quiz to test your knowledge, or review our quick gliding video. In addition, you might want to watch our anatomy and physiology lectures on YouTube, or check our anatomy and physiology notes.