Abductor muscle

Abductor muscle: Any muscle used to pull a body part away from the midline of the body. For example, the abductor leg muscles serve to spread the legs away from the midline and away from one another. The word ôabductorö comes from the Latin prefix ôab-ô meaning ôaway fromö + ôducereö meaning ôto draw or leadö = ôto draw away from.ö The prefix "ab-" is opposed to the prefix "ad-". Therefore, the opposite of ôabductorö is ôadductor.ö An abductor muscle opposes an adductor muscle.