LANGUAGE OF ANATOMY Anatomical 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 SuperiorInferior  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 AnteriorPosterior  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 MedialLateral

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 ProximalDistal

Superficial & Deep  Toward body surface  Ex: Skin is superficial to skeleton  Away from body surface, more internal  Ex: Lungs are deep to the ribcage SuperficialDeep

Practice  The wrist is blank to the hand PROXIMAL  The breastbone is blank to the spine Anterior (Ventral)  The brain is blank to the spinal cord Superior  The lungs are blank to the heart Lateral  The fingers are blank to the thumb Distal

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 AnteriorPosterior

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 DorsalVentral

Body Cavities