Abduction
Abductio
Definition
Abduction is defined as the movement of a limb or appendage, away from midline.
For instance, when the hand is placed in the normal anatomical position, the outward movement of the index finger away from the midline (i.e. middle finger) and the movement of ring and little fingers away from the midline (or middle finger), are both examples of abduction movements of the fingers. Similarly, swinging the arms upwards from the sides of the body, towards the shoulder or higher is also an example of abduction.
The opposite of abduction is adduction, where the limb or the appendage moves towards the midline.
References
Text by Antoine Micheau, MD and reviewed by Muhammad A. Javaid, MD, PhD © 2023 IMAIOS.
Drake, R.L., Vogl, A.W. and Mitchell, A.W.M. (2009). ‘Chapter 7: Upper Limb’ in Gray’s anatomy for Students. (2nd ed.) Philadelphia PA 19103-2899: Elsevier, pp. 651-653.
White, T.D. and Folkens, P.A. (2005). ‘Chapter 6: ANATQMICAL TERMINQLQGY’ in The Human Bone Manual. Editor(s): White, T.D. and Folkens, P.A., Academic Press, pp. 67-74. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780120884674500090
Jones, O. (2020). Anatomical terms of movement in ‘TeachMeAnatomy’. Available at URL: https://teachmeanatomy.info/the-basics/anatomical-terminology/terms-of-movement/ [accessed on Feb 11th, 2023]
