Shoulder abduction is a lateral movement at the shoulder (glenohumeral) joint – moving the upper arm up to the side away from the body – see Figure 1.
In anatomical terminology, a lateral movement is one that moves part of the body further from (lateral to) the midline of the body.
Figure 1. Shoulder Abduction.
The key muscles involved in this movement are the anterior and lateral deltoid, the clavicular head of the pectoralis major, and the supraspinatus. The clavicular head of the pectoralis major also plays a weak role.
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