Chapter 1

By definition, kinesiology is the study of movement. However, this definition is too general
to be of much use. Kinesiology brings together the fields of anatomy, physiology, physics,
and geometry, and relates them to human movement. Thus, kinesiology utilizes principles of
mechanics, musculoskeletal anatomy, and neuro- muscular physiology.
Mechanical principles that relate directly to the human body are used in the study of
biomechanics. Because we may use a ball, racket, crutch, prosthesis, or some other
implement, we must consider our biome- chanical interaction with them as well. This may
involve looking at the static (nonmoving) and/or dynamic (mov- ing) systems associated with
various activities. Dynamic systems can be divided into kinetics and kinematics. Kinetics are
those forces causing movement, whereas kinematics is the time, space, and mass aspects of a
moving system. These and other basic biomechanical concepts will be discussed in Chapter8
This text will give most emphasis to the muscu- loskeletal anatomy components, which are
considered the key to understanding and being able to apply the other components. Many
students have negative thoughts at the mere mention of the word kinesiology. Their eyes
glaze over and their brains freeze. Perhaps, based on past experience with anatomy, they feel
that their only hope is mass memorization. However, this may prove to be an overwhelming
task with no long- term memory gain.
As you proceed through this text, keep in mind a few simple concepts. First, the human body
is arranged in a very logical way. Like all aspects of life, there are excep- tions. Sometimes
the logic of these exceptions is appar- ent, and sometimes the logic may be apparent only to
some higher being. Whichever is the case, you should note the exception and move on.
Second, if you have a good grasp of descriptive terminology and can visualize the concept or
feature, strict memorization is not neces- sary. For example, if you know generally where the
patella is located and what the structures are around it, you can accurately describe its
location using your own words. You do not need to memorize someone else’s words to be
correct.
By keeping in mind some of the basic principles affecting muscles, understanding individual
muscle function need not be so mind-boggling. If you know
(1) what motions a particular joint allows, (2) that a muscle must span a particular joint
surface to cause a certain motion, and (3) what that muscle’s line of pull is, then (4) you will
know the particular action(s) of a specific muscle. For example, (1) the elbow allows only
flexion and extension; (2) a muscle must span the joint anteriorly to flex and posteriorly to
extend; (3) the biceps brachii is a vertical muscle on the anterior sur- face of the arm; (4)
therefore, the bicep flexes the elbow. Yes, kinesiology can be understood by mere mortals. Its
study can even be enjoyable. However, a word of cau- tion should be given: Like exercising,
it is better to study in small amounts several times a week than to study for a long period in
one session before the exam.
Descriptive Terminology
The human body is active and constantly moving; therefore, it is subject to frequent changes
in position. The relationship of the various body parts to each other also changes. To be able
to describe the organization of the human body, it is necessary to use some arbitrary position
as a starting point from which movement or location of structures can be described. This is
known as the anatomical position (Fig. 1-1A) and is described as the human body standing in
an upright position, eyes facing forward, feet parallel and close together, arms at the sides of
the body with the palms facing for- ward. Although the position of the forearm and hands is
not a natural one, it does allow for accurate descrip- tion. The fundamental position (Fig. 1-
1B) is the same as the anatomical position except that the palms face the sides of the body.
This position is often used in dis- cussing rotation of the upper extremity.
Specific terms are used to describe the location of a structure and its position relative to other
structures (Fig. 1-2). Medial refers to a location or position toward the midline, and lateral
refers to a location or position farther from the midline. For example, the ulna is on the
medial side of the forearm, and the radius is lateral
Fundamental position

to the ulna.
Anterior refers to the front of the body or to a posi- tion closer to the front. Posterior refers to
the back of the body or to a position more toward the back. For example, the sternum is
anterior on the chest wall, and

the scapula is posterior. Ventral is a synonym (a word with the same meaning) of anterior, and
dorsal is a syn- onym of posterior; anterior and posterior are more com- monly used in
kinesiology. Front and back also refer to the surfaces of the body, but these are considered lay
terms and are not widely used by health-care professionals. Distal and proximal are used to
describe locations on the extremities. Distal means away from the trunk, and proximal means
toward the trunk. For example, the humeral head is located on the proximal end of the
humerus. The elbow is proximal to the wrist but distal to the shoulder.
Superior is used to indicate the location of a body part that is above another or to refer to the
upper surface of an organ or a structure. Inferior indicates that a body part is below another or
refers to the lower surface of an organ or a structure. For example, the body of the ster- num
is superior to the xiphoid process but inferior to the manubrium. Sometimes people use
cranial or cephalad (from the word root cephal, meaning “head”) to refer to a position or
structure close to the head. Caudal (from the word root cauda, meaning “tail”) refers to a
position or structure closer to the feet. For example, cauda equina, which means “horse’s
tail,” is the bundle of spinal nerve roots descending from the inferior end of the spinal cord.
Like dorsal and ventral, cranial and caudal are terms that are best used to describe positions
on a quadruped (a four- legged animal). Humans are bipeds, or two-legged ani- mals. You can
see that if the dog in Figure 1-3 were to stand on its hind legs, dorsal would become posterior
and cranial would become superior, and so on. A structure may be described as superficial or
deep, depending on its relative depth. For example, in describ- ing the layers of the
abdominal muscles, the external oblique is deep to the rectus abdominis but superficial to the
internal oblique. Another example is the scalp being described as superficial to the skull.
Supine and prone are terms that describe body posi- tion while lying flat. When supine, a
person is lying straight, with the face, or anterior surface, pointed upward. A person in the
prone position is horizontal, with the face, or anterior surface, pointed downward (the child in
Fig. 1-5 is lying prone on the sled).
Bilateral refers to two, or both, sides. For example, bilateral above-knee amputations refer to
both right and left legs being amputated above the knee. Contralateral refers to the opposite
side. For example, a person who has had a stroke affecting the right side of the brain may
have contralateral paralysis of the left arm and left leg. On the other hand, ipsilateral refers to
the same side of the body.
Segments of the Body
The body is divided into segments according to bones (Fig. 1-4). In the upper extremity, the
arm is the bone (humerus) between the shoulder and the elbow joint. Next, the forearm
(radius and ulna) is between the elbow and the wrist. The hand is distal to the wrist.
The lower extremity is made up of three similar seg- ments. The thigh (femur) is between the
hip and the knee joint. The leg (tibia and fibula) is between the knee and the ankle joint, and
the foot is distal to the ankle.
The trunk has two segments: the thorax and the abdomen. The thorax, or chest, is made up of
the ribs,
sternum, and mostly thoracic vertebrae. The abdomen, or lower trunk, is made up of the
pelvis, stomach, and mostly lumbar vertebrae. The neck (cervical vertebrae) and head (skull)
are separate segments.
Arthrokinematic motion (Chapter 4) refers to a joint’s surface motion in relation to the body
segment’s motion. For example, the surface of the proximal end of the humerus moves down,
while the body segment (arm) moves up. Body segments are rarely used to describe joint
motion. For example, flexion occurs at the shoulder, not the arm. The motion occurs at the
joint (shoulder), and the body segment (arm) just goes along for the ride! An exception to this
concept is the forearm. It is a body segment but functions as a joint as well. Technically, joint
motion occurs at the proximal and distal radioulnar joints; however, com- mon practice refers
to this as forearm pronation and supination.

Types of Motion
Linear motion, also called translatory motion, occurs in a more or less straight line from one
location to anoth- er. All the parts of the object move the same distance, in the same direction,
and at the same time. Movement that occurs in a straight line is called rectilinear motion,
such as the motion of a child sledding down a hill (Fig. 1-5), a sailboarder moving across the
water, or a baseball player running from home plate to first base. If movement occurs in a
curved path that isn’t necessar- ily circular, it is called curvilinear motion. The path a diver
takes after leaving the diving board until entering the water is curvilinear motion. Figure 1-6
demon- strates the curvilinear path a skier takes coming down a

ski slope. Other examples of curvilinear motion are the path of a thrown ball, a javelin thrown
across a field, or the Earth’s orbit around the sun.
Movement of an object around a fixed point is called angular motion, also known as rotary
motion (Fig. 1-7). All the parts of the object move through the same angle, in the same
direction, and at the same time, but they do not move the same distance. When a person
flexes his or her knee, the foot travels farther through space than does the ankle or leg.
It is not uncommon to see both types of movement occurring at the same time—the entire
object moving in a linear fashion and the individual parts moving in an angular fashion. In
Figure 1-8, the skateboarder’s whole body moves down the street (linear motion), while indi-
vidual joints on the “pushing” leg (i.e., the hip, knee, and ankle) rotate about their axes
(angular motion). Another example of combined motions is walking. The whole body
exhibits linear motion walking from point A to point B, while the hips, knees, and ankles
exhibit
angular motion. A person throwing a ball uses the upper extremity joints in an angular
direction. The ball travels in a curvilinear path.
Generally speaking, most movement within the body is angular; movement outside the body
tends to be lin- ear. Exceptions to this statement can be found. For example, the movement of
the scapula in elevation/ depression and protraction/retraction is essentially lin- ear. However,
the movement of the clavicle, which is attached to the scapula, is angular and gets its angular
motion from the sternoclavicular joint.
Joint Movements (Osteokinematics)
Joints move in many different directions. As will be dis- cussed, movement occurs around
joint axes and through joint planes. The following terms are used to describe the various joint
movements that occur at syn- ovial joints (Fig. 1-9). Synovial joints are freely movable joints
where most joint motion occurs. These joints are discussed in more detail in Chapter 3. This
type of joint
motion is also called osteokinematics, which deals with the relationship of the movement of
bones around a joint axis (e.g., humerus moving on scapula), as opposed to arthrokinematics,
which deals with the relationship of joint surface movement (humeral head’s movement
within glenoid fossa of scapula). This will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 4.
Flexion is the bending movement of one bone on another, bringing the two segments together
and causing an increase in the joint angle. Usually this occurs between anterior surfaces of
articulating bones, and surfaces move toward each other. In the case of the neck, flexion is a
“bowing down” motion (Fig. 1-9A) in which the head moves toward the anterior chest. With
elbow flexion, the forearm and arm move toward each other. With the knee, however, the
posterior surfaces (thigh and leg) move toward each other, causing flexion. With hip flexion,
the thigh moves toward the trunk when the lower extremity
is the moving part. When the lower extremities are fixed and the trunk becomes the moving
part, the trunk flexes. Actually, whether flexion represents an increase or decrease in joint
angle will depend on your point of refer- ence. When performing a goniometric measurement
of elbow flexion, you would begin in the anatomical posi- tion (full extension), which is
considered zero. The amount of flexion increases toward 180 degrees. In this case, flexion
would represent an increase in the joint angle (Fig. 1-9D). In other references, flexion begins
at 180 degrees (full extension) and moves toward 0 degrees; thus, it is a decrease in the joint
angle.
Conversely, extension is the straightening move- ment of one bone away from another,
causing an increase of the joint angle. This motion usually returns the body part to the
anatomical position after it has been flexed (Fig. 1-9B, E). The joint surfaces tend to move
away from each other. Extension occurs when the head moves up and away from the chest,
and the thigh moves away from the trunk and returns to anatomical position. Hyperextension
is the continuation of exten- sion beyond the anatomical position (Fig. 1-9C). The shoulder,
hip, neck, and trunk can hyperextend. Flexion at the wrist may be called palmar flexion (Fig.
1-9F), and flexion at the ankle may be called plantar flexion (Fig. 1-9H). Extension at the
wrist and ankle joints may be called dorsiflexion (Fig. 1-9G, I).
movement toward the midline. The shoulder and hip can abduct and adduct. Exceptions to
this midline defi- nition are the fingers and toes. The reference point for the fingers is the
middle finger. Movement away from the middle finger is abduction (see Fig. 13-5). It should
be noted that the middle finger abducts (to the right
and to the left) but adducts only as a return movement from abduction to the midline. The
point of reference for the toes is the second toe (see Fig. 20-13). Similar to the middle finger,
the second toe abducts to the right and the left but does not adduct except as a return
movement from abduction.
Horizontal abduction and adduction are motions which cannot occur from anatomical
position. They must be preceded by either flexion or abduction of the shoulder joint so that
the arm is at shoulder level. From this posi- tion, shoulder movement backward is horizontal
abduc- tion (Fig. 1-10C) and movement forward is horizontal adduction (Fig. 1-10D). There
are similar movements at the hip, but the ranges of motion are not usually as great. Radial
deviation and ulnar deviation are terms more commonly used to refer to wrist abduction and
adduc- tion. When the hand moves laterally, or toward the thumb side, it is radial deviation
(Fig. 1-10E). When the hand moves medially from the anatomical position toward the little
finger side at the wrist, it is ulnar
deviation (Fig. 1-10F).
When the trunk moves sideways, the term lateral bending is used. The trunk can laterally
bend to the right or to the left (Fig. 1-10G, H). If the right side of the trunk bends, moving the
shoulder toward the right hip, it is called right lateral bending. The neck also laterally bends
in the same way. The term lateral flexion is some- times used to describe this sideward
motion. However, because this term is easily confused with flexion, it will not be used in this
book.
Circumduction is motion that describes a circular, cone-shaped pattern. It involves a
combination of four joint motions: (1) flexion, (2) abduction, (3) extension, and (4)
adduction. For example, if the shoulder moves in a circle, the hand would move in a much
larger circle. The entire arm would move in a cone-shaped sequential pat- tern of flexion to
abduction to extension to adduction, bringing the arm back to its starting position (Fig. 1-11).
Rotation is movement of a bone or part around its lon- gitudinal axis. If the anterior surface
rolls inward toward the midline, it is called medial rotation (Fig. 1-12A). This is sometimes
referred to as internal rotation. Conversely, if the anterior surface rolls outward, away from
the midline, it is called lateral rotation (Fig. 1-12B), or external rotation. The neck and trunk
rotate to either the right or left side (Fig. 1-12C, D). Visualize the neck rotating as you look
over your right shoulder. This would be “right neck rotation.” Rotation of the forearm is
referred to as supination and pronation. In anatomical position, the forearm is in
supination (Fig. 1-12E). This faces the palm of the hand forward, or anteriorly. In pronation
(Fig. 1-12F), the palm is facing backward, or posteriorly. When the elbow is flexed, the
“palm up” position refers to supina- tion and “palm down” refers to pronation.
The following are terms used to describe motions specific to certain joints. Inversion is
moving the sole of the foot inward at the ankle (Fig. 1-13A), and eversion is the outward
movement (Fig. 1-13B). Protraction is mostly a linear movement along a plane parallel to the
ground and away from the midline (Fig. 1-14A), and retraction is mostly a linear movement
in the same plane but toward the midline (Fig. 1-14B). Protraction of the shoulder girdle
moves the scapula away from the midline, as does protraction of the jaw, whereas retrac- tion
in both of these cases returns the body part toward the midline, or back to anatomical
position.