Protraction

Protraction means to protrude or stick out a part of the body. For instance, when throwing a punch with abducted arms, a muscle originating from the chest wall–called serratus anterior–contracts and drags the scapula forwards over the rib cage, causing protraction of scapula. Similarly, sticking the mandible or the lower jaw bone outwards is called protraction of mandible.

The opposite of protraction is retraction which refers to bringing the protracted scapula or the mandible back into their original positions.