The document will be concerned solely with cardan shafts and cardan shaft lines which contain universal joints. Cardan shafts consist of a drive shaft, a universal joint and an output shaft. Cardan shaft lines have more than two universal joints. The aim of this guideline is to outline from the kinematic point of view the possibilities for connecting universal-joint mechanisms in series and to describe the conitions for a homokinematic transmission of movement between the driving and driven shafts of cardan shafts and cardan shaft lines.