Pivot Joint – Only allows rotational movement

(Pronounced pih-vuht)

To remember where and what a pivotal joint is, use the following mnemonic:

When the ice cream seller came around the corner, her head nearly pivoted (pivot joint) all the way around. 

The pivot joint is in the neck and causes rotation.

Think of the pivot joint as one bone spinning or rotating around another bone, as below. The pivot joint only moves in one axis (only moves in one plane).

The top two vertebrate (C1 and C2) of a human being can be rotated around each other.  

A pivot joint can be found between the top two vertebrate of the spine.  

The pivot joint can be found at the top and bottom of the ulna and radius (the bones between the wrist and elbow).

The pivot joint at the top of the ulna and radius looks like the following:

The pivot joint can also be found in the wrist area, again between the ulna and radius.