Anatomical Movements & Synovial Joints
Terms
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- abduction
-
movement away from the longitudinal axis of the body in the frontal plane;
example: moving the arm outward laterally - adduction
-
movement towards the longitudinal axis of the body in the frontal plane;
the reverse of abduction - flexion
-
movement in the anterior-posterior plane that reduces the angle between articulating elements;
examples: bending the knee, bending the elbow - extension
-
movement in the anterior-posterior plane that increases the angle between articulating elements;
the reverse of flexion;
examples: straightening the knee, straightening the elbow - hyperextension
- any movement where a limb is extended beyond its normal limits, resulting in joint damage
- circumduction
-
angular movement in a loop or circular shape;
example: drawing a circle on a blackboard - rotation
-
turning at a pivot joint;
example: turning the head from facing the left side to facing the right side - lateral rotation
- the reverse of medial rotation or internal rotation
- external rotation
- lateral rotation
- medial rotation
-
rotating the anterior aspect of the limb inwards toward the ventral surface of the body;
example: from the standard anatomical position, moving your right upper arm and lower arm to touch your right thigh - internal rotation
- medial rotation
- pronation
- movement of the wrist and hand from palm-facing-front to palm-facing-back
- supination
- the reverse of pronation
- eversion
- twisting motion of the foot that turns the sole outward
- inversion
- twisting motion of the foot that turns the sole inward
- dorsiflexion
-
elevation of the distal portion of the foot and the toes;
example: digging in the heels - ankle flexion
- dorsiflexion
- plantar flexion
-
elevating the heel and proximal portion of the foot;
example: standing on tiptoe - ankle extension
- plantar flexion
- lateral flexion
- bending the vertebral column to the side along the frontal plane or coronal plane
- opposition
- movement of the thumb that produces pad-to-pad contact of the thumb with the palm or any other finger
- reposition
- the reverse of opposition
- protraction
-
moving a part of the body anteriorly in the horizontal plane;
example: you protract your clavicles when you cross your arms - retraction
- the reverse of protraction
- elevation
-
movement of a structure in the superior direction;
example: shrugging your shoulder elevates your scapula - depression
-
movement of a structure in the inferior direction;
example: opening your mouth depresses your mandible - articulation
- interaction of adjacent bones; a joint
- joint
- an area where adjacent bones interact; an articulation
- synovial joint
- freely movable diarthrotic joints; may permit movement in one, two, or all three planes
- gliding joint
-
joint with flattened or slightly curved faces that permits the relatively flat articular surfaces to slide across one another;
example: sternoclavicular joint (clavicle - manubrium articulation) - plane joint
- gliding joint
- planar joint
- gliding joint
- nonaxial gliding joint
- gliding joint that permits only small sliding movements
- multiaxial gliding joint
- gliding joint permits sliding in any direction
- hinge joint
-
a monoaxial joint that permits angular movement in a single plane, like the opening and closing of a door;
examples: elbow joint, knee joint - pivot joint
-
a monoaxial joint that permits only rotation;
example: atlanto-axial joint (atlas - axis pivot articulation) - condylar joint
-
a biaxial joint where an oval articular face nestles within a depression on the opposing surface;
angular motion occurs in two planes, along and across the length of the oval;
example: metacarpophalangeal joint - ellipsoidal joint
- condylar joint
- saddle joint
-
a biaxial joint that resembles a saddle because it is concave on one axis and convex on the other axis;
example: carpometacarpo joint of thumb - ball-and-socket joint
-
a triaxial joint where the round head of one bone rests within a cup-shaped depression in another;
all combinations of movements, including rotation, can be performed at ball-and-socket joints;
examples: shoulder joint, hip joint - monoaxial
- permits movement along only one axis or only angular movement in one plane
- uniaxial
- monoaxial
- biaxial
- permits movement to occur on two axes or angular movement in one of two planes (not in combination)
- triaxial
- permits a combination of rotational and angular motion