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Definition

noun

A synovial joint in which an oval-shaped process of one bone fits into a roughly elliptical cavity of the other, allowing movement in two planes (i.e. flexion or extension, abduction or adduction).

Supplement

Examples are:

• the wrist joint
• the metacarpophalangeal joints
• the metatarsophalangeal joints

Word origin: Latin: condylus, from Greek: kondylos; knuckle.

Also called:

• articulatio condylaris
• condylar articulation
• condylar joint

Synonym:

• ellipsoidal joint