Anatomical Terms Of Movement

Question 1

Flexion and Extension

Answer 1

Flexion and extension are movements that occur in the sagittal plane. They refer to increasing and decreasing the angle between two body parts.

Flexion refers to a movement that decreases the angle between two body parts.

Extension refers to a movement that increases the angle between two body parts.

Question 2

Abduction and Adduction

Answer 2

Abduction and adduction are two terms that are used to describe movements towards or away from the midline of the body.

Abduction is a movement away from the midline.

Adduction is a movement towards the midline.

In fingers and toes, the midline used is not the midline of the body, but of the hand and foot respectively. Therefore, abducting the fingers spreads them out.

Question 3

Medial and Lateral Rotation

Answer 3

Medial and lateral rotation describe movement of the limbs around their long axis.

Medial rotation is a rotational movement towards the midline. It is sometimes referred to as internal rotation.

Lateral rotation is a rotating movement away from the midline.

Question 4

When the knee flexes, the ankle moves closer to the buttock, and the angle between the femur and tibia gets smaller.

Answer 4

Flexion

Question 5

___________ of the knee straightens the lower limb.

Answer 5

Extension

Question 6

____________ of the shoulder raises the arms out to the sides of the body.

Answer 6

Abduction

Question 7

______ of the hip squeezes the legs together.

Answer 7

Adduction

Question 8

With a straight leg, rotate it to point the toes inward.

Answer 8

Medial rotation

Question 9

Rotating your leg so that your toes face forward, instead of inward.

Answer 9

Lateral rotation

Question 10

Elevation and Depression

Answer 10

Elevation refers to movement in a superior direction (e.g. shoulder shrug), depression refers to movement in an inferior direction.

Question 11

Pronation and Supination

Answer 11

This is easily confused with medial and lateral rotation, but the difference is subtle. With your hand resting on a table in front of you, and keeping your shoulder and elbow still, turn your hand onto its back, palm up. This is the supine position, and so this movement is supination.

Again, keeping the elbow and shoulder still, flip your hand onto its front, palm down. This is the prone position, and so this movement is named pronation.

These terms also apply to the whole body – when lying flat on the back, the body is supine. When lying flat on the front, the body is prone.

Question 12

Dorsiflexion and Plantarflexion

Answer 12

Dorsiflexion and plantarflexion are terms used to describe movements at the ankle. They refer to the two surfaces of the foot; the dorsum (superior surface) and the plantar surface (the sole).

Dorsiflexion refers to flexion at the ankle, so that the foot points more superiorly.

Plantarflexion refers extension at the ankle, so that the foot points inferiorly.

Question 13

Your foot pointing superiorly.

Answer 13

Dorsiflexion

Question 14

Your foot pointing inferiorly

Answer 14

Plantar Flexion

Question 15

Inversion and Eversion

Answer 15

Inversion and eversion are movements which occur at the ankle joint, referring to the rotation of the foot around its long axis.

Inversion involves the movement of the sole towards the median plane

Eversion involves the movement of the sole away from the median plane

Question 16

Opposition and Reposition

Answer 16

These terms apply to the additional movements that the hand and thumb can perform.

Opposition brings the thumb and little finger together.

Reposition is a movement that moves the thumb and the little finger away from each other.

Question 17

Circumduction

Answer 17

Circumduction can be defined as a conical movement of a limb extending from the joint at which the movement is controlled.

Question 18

Protraction and Retraction

Answer 18

Protraction describes the anterolateral movement of the scapula on the thoracic wall that allows the shoulder to move anteriorly. In practice, this is the movement of ‘reaching out’ to something.

Retraction refers to the posteromedial movement of the scapula on the thoracic wall, which causes the shoulder region to move posteriorly i.e. picking something up.