Movement and Locomotion
Introduction:
- Locomotion includes rudimentary structures such as cilia, flagella in lower organisms or much more complex structures like wings or feet in higher organisms.
- Movement is the change in the position of a body part with respect to the whole body like the blinking of the eyes, breathing
- Locomotion and movement have significantly contributed to man’s evolutionary process, from being quadrupedal to bipedal and increasing in the brain’s volume.
- Joints are points in our body where two or more parts of our skeleton are connected together which facilitates movements.
Types of Body Movements
- Types of movements are-
I. Amoeboid movement
ii. Ciliary movement
iii. Flagellar movement
iv. Muscular movement
i. Amoeboid movement-
- Movement exhibited by the pseudopodia formed by the streaming of protoplasm (as in Amoeba) is said to be an amoeboid movement.
- Example- Leucocytes in blood exhibit amoeboid movement known as Diapedesis.
ii. Ciliary movement-
- Movement exhibited due to cilia is said to be ciliary movement.
- Example- Ciliary movement epithelium of the respiratory tract helps in removing dust particles and some of the foreign substances.
iii. Flagellar movement-
- Movement facilitated by flagella is known as a flagellar movement.
- Example- Sperms show flagellar movement
iv. Muscular movement-
- Muscles are responsible for most of the movement like breathing, the function of the heart, digestion, movement of appendages.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1 List the name of the human body cell/tissues that:
a) Display ameboid movement
b) Display ciliary movement
Ans.
a) Macrophages and leukocytes
b) Ciliary movement epithelium of the respiratory tract helps in removing dust particles and some of the foreign substances.
Q2 What is locomotion?
Ans.
Locomotion is the ability of an organism to move from one place to another place which includes rudimentary structures such as cilia, flagella in lower organisms or much more complex structures like wings or feet in higher organisms.
Q3 What are the different types of locomotion in humans?
Ans.
The different types of locomotion in humans are - Walking, running, swimming, jumping
Q4 How is locomotion different from movement?
Ans.
Locomotion is defined as the displacement of a body from one place to another whereas the movement is the displacement of a body or a part of the body from its original position.