Cartilage, Giving Our Joints the Gift of Glide

Together, bone and muscle are apparent, impressive, and constitute more than half of our body weight. They are useless, however, without ligaments, which span between two or more bones, support joints, and allow for purposeful movement. Ligaments constitute only a minute fraction of our bulk and are neither palpable nor visible through the skin, so they are vastly underappreciated. In this course, we examine the arrangement, composition, and oddities of ligaments, how they tend to stiffen over time, and some of the most common ligament injuries. We turn to other acquired conditions including cellulite and flat feet and finish with describing how contortionists condition their ligaments, adaptations in other animals, and what is on the horizon for artificial replacements. This course uses the Hybrid format which allows students to participate remotely and/or in the classroom. This course will be recorded. Students will have access to videos for 30 days.