The Top 25 Terms Physical Therapy Students Should Know

The following Terms and joint names are considered by many to be the top 25 terms physical therapy students should know:



1. Active Motion: the motion caused by muscle contraction



2. Adduction: the moving of a body part toward the central axis of the body



3. Anatomic Position: a position in which a patient stands upright with his or her feet together and pointing forward, eyes looking straight ahead, arms straight at the sides with palms also facing forward



4. Angle: a vector quantity consisting of two sides that meet at a vertex



5. Anomaly: a divergence from a specific type’s essential characteristics



6. Approximation: the movement of two articular surfaces meeting close to the longitudinal axis of the distal segment



7. Axis of Rotation: the pivot point usually located within the convex component of the joint that is used for an angular motion



8. Cancer: one of the many malignant neoplasms that can proliferate in anaplastic cells and invade surrounding tissues while metastasizing to the body



9. Carpal Tunnel: a "tunnel" that forms around the wrist via the flexor retinaculum and proximal transverse arch



10. Condyle: an eminence at the end of a bone that is marked by a round, articular surface



11. Connective Tissue: fibrous tissue that makes tendons, blood, bones, cartilage and adipose and lymphatic tissues



12. Dynamic Stability: the body’s ability to regain balance during perturbation



13. Erect posture: standing upright "at attention"



14. Force: something that causes the body to change speed, direction and/or shape



15. Gravitational force: attraction between all masses in the universe



16. Hinge joint: where articular surfaces are hinged together so that they can only move in one plane



17. Humeroulnar joint: is part of the elbow joint that creates the abilities of flexion, extension and circumduction



18. Spheroidal joint: a ball and socket joint that allows the bone to move in a 360° angle



19. Law of Reaction: "For any action there is an equal and opposite reaction."



20. Longitudinal Axis: this is an imaging line that is parallel to a long bone or body segment, while existing within it



21. Mobility: the ability that a person, animal or thing has to move in space



22. Muscle power: the efficiency level of a muscle contraction



23. Osteopathy: the medical system based on a theory that musculoskeletal systems are affected by other body parts when they are disturbed, requiring specific therapies and techniques of manipulation to correct



24. Passive Motion: any motion that is caused by sources other than muscle contraction are considered passive



25. Rotation: any motion where the body is a radius and other moving parts of the body move in a circle of the same angular direction



Some are self explanatory; others need explanation. Did you know them?



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