In anatomy, abduction describes a movement in which a body part is led away from the midline of the body. The term derives from the Latin abducere, "to lead away".
Typical examples are raising the arm sideways at the shoulder joint or spreading the leg outwards at the hip joint. For the fingers and toes, abduction refers to spreading away from a central axis of the limb. In most joints, abduction is the counterpart of adduction.