Constraints and Bone Movement

I wish my model to move in a human fashion. I believe (from my limited n00b knowledge) that this could be accomplished by constraints. I will explain.

The elbows should move in a strict up/down fashion with no lateral movement. The upper arm will only rotate. Etcetera. In the current state, the lower arm can translate to any position in space, quite incorrect for “human” joints!

In this fashion, the hand is capable of movement in space. Can someone help point me to topics to read or search for this information? I have the Blender 2.3 book.

Thanks you in advance, Bob