LANGUAGE OF ANATOMYAnatomical Terms, Directional Terms, Regional Terms, Body Planes, and Body Cavities
Anatomical Position Always assume body is in anatomical
position to accurately describe body parts and position
Body is erect Feet parallel, shoulder width apart Palms to the side facing forward
Directional Terms Explains where one body structure is in
relation to another
Superior (Cranial, Cephalad) & Inferior (Caudal)
Toward the head or upper part of a structure of the body, above
Ex: The forehead is superior to the nose
Superior Inferior
Away from head end or toward lower part of body, below
Ex: The navel is inferior to the breastbone
Anterior (Ventral) &Posterior (Dorsal)
Toward the front of the body
Ex: The breastbone is anterior to the spine
In four legged animals, ventral refers to the belly of an animal
Anterior Posterior
Toward the backside, behind
Ex: The heart is posterior to the breastbone
Medial &Lateral
Toward or at midline of body, inner side
Ex: Heart is medial to arm
Away from midline of body, outer side
Ex: Arms are lateral to the chest
Medial Lateral
Intermediate Between a more medial and a more
lateral structure
Ex: Armpit is intermediate between the breastbone and shoulder
Proximal &Distal
Close to the origin of body part or point of attachment of a limb to the body of the trunk
Ex: Elbow is proximal to wrist
Farther from origin of body part or point of attachment of limb to body trunk
Ex: Knee is distal to thigh
Proximal Distal
Superficial &Deep
Toward body surface
Ex: Skin is superficial to skeleton
Away from body surface, more internal
Ex: Lungs are deep to the ribcage
Superficial Deep
Practice The wrist is blank to the hand PROXIMAL The breastbone is blank to the spineAnterior (Ventral) The brain is blank to the spinal cordSuperior The lungs are blank to the heartLateral The fingers are blank to the thumbDistal
Anterior Body Landmarks
Abdominal- anterior body trunk inferior to ribs
Acromial-point of shoulder Antecubital-anterior surface
of elbow Axillary-armpit Brachial-arm Buccal-cheek Carpal-wrist Cervical-neck Coxal-hip Crural-leg Digital-fingers, toes Femoral-thigh
Fibular-lateral part of leg Inguinal-groin Nasal-nose Oral-mouth Orbital-eye Patellar- anterior knee Pelvic-anterior pelvis Pubic-genital region Sternal-breastbone Tarsal-ankle Thoracic-chest Umbilical-naval
Posterior Body Landmarks Cephalic-head Deltoid- curve of
shoulder Gluteal-buttock Lumbar-area of
back between ribs and hips
Occipital-posterior side of head
Popliteal-posterior knee area
Sacral-area between hips
Scapular-shoulder blade region
Sural-calf Vertebral-area of
spine
Body Landmarks
Anterior Posterior
Body Planes and Sections Section-cut
Sagittal section- cut made lengthwise, dividing body into right and left parts. If its exactly in the middle it’s called a midsaggital
section Frontal/ coronal section- cut made that divides
body into anterior and posterior Transverse/cross section-cut made along horizontal
plane, divides body into superior and inferior parts Plane-imaginary line that a section is made
through
Body Sections and Planes
Body Cavities
Cranial Cavity
Spinal Cavity
Thoracic cavity- seperated from the rest by diaphragm
Abdominopelvic- can be further divided into abdominal cavity and pelvic cavity Abdomial cavity can be divided into
nine more regions: 1. Umbilical region- center rmost 2. epigastric region- superior to umbilical
region 3. Hypogastric region- inferior to
umbilical region 4. Right and Left Iliac/inguinal regions-
lateral to hypogastric region 5. Right and left lumbar regions- lateral
to umbillical region 6. Right and left hypochondriac region-
lateral to epigastric region
Dorsal Ventral
Body Cavities