Form and Function

Alright, so I finally started studying for the next exam. Probably shouldn't admit I wasted the whole week of spring break when I clearly should have been writing blog posts and spreading out the exam preparations, but there it is.

One question: The examples in the book of flexion and extension as they relate to the shoulder joint make no sense to me. If flexion lessens the angle at a joint and brings two bones closer together, how does this apply to moving the whole arm anteriorly at the shoulder? Which two bones are being brought closer together that are not also brought closer (but in the opposite direction) by moving the arm posteriorly at the shoulder? Perhaps I am exceptionally dumb but this just does not make sense to me.

One observation: Question number 21 of the True/False quiz for Chapter 8 reads -
"The temporomandibular joint is very complex. What is the purpose of this question? Complexity is subjective. The knee is the most complex joint in the body, for example. Besides, the answer says 'relatively' rather than 'very'."
The answer, apparently, is "True".
The explanation, aka the only part of this question that makes any sense, reads - "The TMJ is a synovial joint and is relatively complex just like all synovial joints."
What the heck? I'm guessing someone's edits made it into the actual question which should just read, ""The temporomandibular joint is relatively complex." Good for a laugh, I guess.

One suggestion: I move that the entire lab practical be made of questions regarding our favorites, similar to "What is your favorite bone and why?" from the last practical. For example, "What is your favorite synovial joint and why?" or "What is your favorite abbreviation for calcium?" (I'm a fan of Ca²⁺ myself). Imagine the ease of setup and grading! Everyone wins!