The long thumb abductor

Abductor pollicis longus · musculus abductor pollicis longus

A forearm muscle that swings your thumb out away from your palm.

What it does

This deep forearm muscle sends a tendon over the thumb side of the wrist to the base of the thumb. It moves the thumb away from the palm. Its tendon shares a tunnel with extensor pollicis brevis, where both can become inflamed with repetitive thumb use.

Nearby

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Sources

Drafted with AI help; awaiting a human fact-check against these sources.

Open in the 3D atlas · Suggest a correction · Not medical advice.

3D models: Z-Anatomy & BodyParts3D (CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2.1 JP). Card text CC BY 4.0.