abduction
Last reviewed 01/2018
Abduction is the verb used to indicate movement of a body part away from the median plane or midline perpendicularly in the coronal plane. For example, the lateral rectus muscle moves the eye away from the midline.
Exceptions include:
- abduction within the hand and foot where the movement is one of 'fanning out' of the digit or digits away from the median plane
- abduction of the thumb which is a movement out of the plane of the hand
Abduction is the opposite of adduction.