Which movement moves away from the body's midline?

Which movement moves away from the body's midline?

• A. Adduction
• B. Flexion
• C. Abduction
• D. Extension

Answer: (C)

Moving away from the body's midline is abduction. The midline is the imaginary line that runs down the center of the body. When you lift a limb out to the side—like raising your arm away from your torso or spreading your fingers apart—you’re performing abduction. The opposite, bringing a limb toward the midline, is adduction. Flexion and extension describe bending and straightening a joint (reducing or increasing the joint’s angle), not whether a limb is moving toward or away from the midline. So the term that fits the described movement is abduction.

Moving away from the body's midline is abduction. The midline is the imaginary line that runs down the center of the body. When you lift a limb out to the side—like raising your arm away from your torso or spreading your fingers apart—you’re performing abduction. The opposite, bringing a limb toward the midline, is adduction. Flexion and extension describe bending and straightening a joint (reducing or increasing the joint’s angle), not whether a limb is moving toward or away from the midline. So the term that fits the described movement is abduction.