Similarly, abduction and adduction at the wrist moves the hand away from or toward the midline of the body. For example, abduction is raising the arm at the shoulder joint, moving it laterally away from the body, while adduction brings the arm down to the side of the body. Abduction moves the limb laterally away from the midline of the body, while adduction is the opposing movement that brings the limb toward the body or across the midline.

Abduction and AdductionĪbduction and adduction motions occur within the coronal plane and involve medial-lateral motions of the limbs, fingers, toes, or thumb. Circumduction is the movement of the limb, hand, or fingers in a circular pattern, using the sequential combination of flexion, adduction, extension, and abduction motions.Īdduction, abduction, and circumduction take place at the shoulder, hip, wrist, metacarpophalangeal, and metatarsophalangeal joints. Adduction brings the limb or hand toward or across the midline of the body, or brings the fingers or toes together. Moving the limb or hand laterally away from the body, or spreading the fingers or toes, is abduction. Abduction, adduction, and circumduction.Ībduction and adduction are motions of the limbs, hand, fingers, or toes in the coronal (medial–lateral) plane of movement. Flexion and extension movements are seen at the hinge, condyloid, saddle, and ball-and-socket joints of the limbs (see Figure 1).įigure 2. Knee flexion is the bending of the knee to bring the foot toward the posterior thigh, and extension is the straightening of the knee. Note that extension of the thigh beyond the anatomical (standing) position is greatly limited by the ligaments that support the hip joint. In the lower limb, bringing the thigh forward and upward is flexion at the hip joint, while any posterior-going motion of the thigh is extension. These motions take place at the first carpometacarpal joint. For the thumb, extension moves the thumb away from the palm of the hand, within the same plane as the palm, while flexion brings the thumb back against the index finger or into the palm. These include anterior-posterior movements of the arm at the shoulder, the forearm at the elbow, the hand at the wrist, and the fingers at the metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints. For the upper limb, all anterior-going motions are flexion and all posterior-going motions are extension. In the limbs, flexion decreases the angle between the bones (bending of the joint), while extension increases the angle and straightens the joint.

These movements of the vertebral column involve both the symphysis joint formed by each intervertebral disc, as well as the plane type of synovial joint formed between the inferior articular processes of one vertebra and the superior articular processes of the next lower vertebra. Lateral flexion is the bending of the neck or body toward the right or left side. For the vertebral column, flexion (anterior flexion) is an anterior (forward) bending of the neck or body, while extension involves a posterior-directed motion, such as straightening from a flexed position or bending backward.

What motions involve increasing or decreasing the angle of the foot at the ankle?įlexion and extension are movements that take place within the sagittal plane and involve anterior or posterior movements of the body or limbs. Watch this video to learn about anatomical motions. Body movements are always described in relation to the anatomical position of the body: upright stance, with upper limbs to the side of body and palms facing forward. Movement types are generally paired, with one being the opposite of the other. There are many types of movement that can occur at synovial joints (Table 1). Overall, each type of synovial joint is necessary to provide the body with its great flexibility and mobility. While the ball-and-socket joint gives the greatest range of movement at an individual joint, in other regions of the body, several joints may work together to produce a particular movement. The type of movement that can be produced at a synovial joint is determined by its structural type. Each movement at a synovial joint results from the contraction or relaxation of the muscles that are attached to the bones on either side of the articulation. Synovial joints allow the body a tremendous range of movements. Identify the joints that allow for these motions.Define the different types of body movements.

Abduction anatomy