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Medical Terms of Movement/Motion

Term Description Example
Flexion Bending the joint to make When you touch your right
the angle between the two shoulder with your right hand,
bones smaller. Occurs in the your elbow is in flexion (flexed).
sagittal plane.
Extension Straightening a joint to If you straighten your legs, the
make the angle larger. knees have undergone
Occurs in the sagittal plane. extension (extended).
Abduction Moving away from the When you stand with your feet
median plane. Movement apart, your legs are in abduction
occurs in the coronal plane. (abducted).
Adduction The opposite of abduction. If you sqeeze your knees
together, you are adducting
your legs.
Lateral Flexion A movement in the coronal If you tilt you head to touch
plane used to describe a your ear to your shoulder, you
movement of the spine. have laterally flexed your neck.
Internal Rotation Rotation of a limb where You internally rotate your
the anterior surface of the shoulder when you scratch your
limb moves medially. back.
External The opposite of internal You externally rotate your hip
Rotation rotation. when you point your feet out to
the side.
Circumduction A circular motion Making circles in the air with
combining flexion, your arms.
extension, abduction and
adduction.
Supination A movement of the forearm When screwing in a screw with
in which the palm faces a screwdriver using your right
posteriorly. hand, you have to supinate your
forearm.
Pronation A movement of the forearm When unscrewing a screw with
in which the palm faces your right hand, you must
anteriorly. pronate your forearm.
Protraction Moving anteriorly. Sticking your chin out.
Retraction Moving posteriorly. Pushing your shoulders back to
squeeze your shoulder blades
together.
 Opposition Movement of the hand
where the thumb touches
the 5th finger.
Dorsiflexion Movement of the ankle in When you point your foot
the sagittal plane which towards your head.
decreases the angle between
the foot and the lower leg
Plantar Flexion Movement of the ankle in When you stand on 'tip-toes'
the sagittal plane which your ankles are in
increases the angle between plantarflexion.
the foot and the lower leg
Elevation Upward movement When shrugging your shoulders
you elevate them
Depression Opposite to elevation

Pinoy R.N. | Up-to-Date Nursing News and Information | This file was downloaded from www.PinoyRN.co.nr