Chapter 2. Prehension

358 Appendices
Flexion: to bend or to make a decreased angle
Extension: to straighten or to make an increased angle
Adduction: to move in the frontal plane towards (ad) the body midline; for the
fingers, movement is toward the middle finger; for the thumb, movement in
the sagittal plane toward the palm
Abduction: to move in the frontal plane away from (ab) the body midline; for the
fingers, movement is away from the middle finger; for the thumb, movement
in the sagittal plane away from the palm
Ulnar deviation: adduction at the wrist; movement of the little finger side of the
hand toward the ulna of the forearm
Radial deviation: abduction at the wrist; movement of the thumb side of the
hand toward the radius of the forearm
Horizontal adduction (Horizontal flexion): movement of the upper limb
in the horizontal plane (forward) toward the midline of the body
Horizontal abduction (Horizontal extension): movement of the upper
limb in the horizontal plane (outward) from the midline of the body
Elevation: to move the shoulder girdle superiorly
Depression: to move the shoulder girdle inferiorly
Rotation upward: rotation of the scapula around the sagittal axis, bringing the
glenoid fossa upward and the inferior angle laterally
Rotation downward: rotation of the scapula around the sagittal axis, bringing
the glenoid fossa downwardward and the inferior angle medially
Protraction: is movement of the shoulder girdle forward
Retraction: is movement of the shoulder girdle backward
Medial (internal) rotation: rotation around the long axis so the anterior aspect
faces toward the midline
Lateral (external) rotation: rotation around the long axis so the anterior
aspect faces away from the midline
Pronation: to turn the forearm so the palm faces posteriorly; medial rotation of
forearm
Supination: to turn the forearm so the palm faces anteriorly; lateral rotation of
the forearm
Circumduction: movement of a segement so that its free end traces a circle in
space; the segment describes a cone whose apex is the attached end of the
segment; a sequential combination of flexion, abduction, extension and
adduction
Opposition: a special motion in which the thumb touches the tip of a finger; a
composite of circumduction and flexion of the thumb
Based on the articulating surfaces, the types of joints allow for
differing degrees of freedom of motion. For example a hinge joint in
the elbow allows for one degree of freedom, whereas a ball and socket
joint in the shoulder allows for three degrees of freedom. There are