What term describes the circular movement path of a limb at a joint?

What term describes the circular movement path of a limb at a joint?

• A. Rotation
• B. Plantar Flexion
• C. Circumduction
• D. Adduction

Answer: (C)

Circumduction means tracing a circular path with the end of a limb at a joint, produced by combining several joint movements. It happens when you move through flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction in a coordinated way, so the limb’s tip describes a cone-shaped circle—like circling the arm at the shoulder or the leg at the hip. This differs from rotation, which is turning around the joint’s own axis; plantar flexion, which is pointing the toes downward at the ankle; and adduction, which is moving a limb toward the body's midline. Circumduction is the term for that circular motion.

Circumduction means tracing a circular path with the end of a limb at a joint, produced by combining several joint movements. It happens when you move through flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction in a coordinated way, so the limb’s tip describes a cone-shaped circle—like circling the arm at the shoulder or the leg at the hip. This differs from rotation, which is turning around the joint’s own axis; plantar flexion, which is pointing the toes downward at the ankle; and adduction, which is moving a limb toward the body's midline. Circumduction is the term for that circular motion.