Adduction means to take or lead towards (originally from the latin adducere) so that adduction moves one part of the body closer to another.
In the case of the lower limb, adduction movements of the hip move the whole limb towards the mid-line of the body; thus, adducting both hip joints would bring the legs together. hip adduction is accomplished by a powerful group of medial thigh muscles - the adductors - including adductor longus, brevis and magnus, pectineus and gracilis ; the group is chiefly supplied by the obturator nerve (L2,3,4).
The adductors have a semi-circular origin on the hip bone running from the superior pubic ramus down through the body of the pubis, the inferior pubic ramus, the ischial ramus and finally the ischial tuberosity. Most are inserted into the linea aspera on the back of the femur.
Powerful adduction of the hip joint allows the legs to grip and is important in activities like climbing or riding a horse.
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