The relations between morphology, asymmetry of mutual articular facets, and range of movement, in the human hand joints

Surface area measurements were performed on the articular facets in the human hand joints in order to calculate the area-asymmetry (incongruency) between mutual articular facets in every one of the hand joints, and to learn about the relations between the asymmetry in the joint, the joint's morphology, and the range of movement exhibited by it. Several different trials have led to the conclusion that the asymmetry in a joint is strongly influenced by its morphological type (plane; sellar; condyloid; bicondylar). No such correlation was found between the asymmetry in a joint and its characteristic range of movement. The results contradict the intuitive assumption that the greater the incongruency in a joint, the wider the movement it can perform.