Anatomical Terms of Reference Kelli D. Barbour, MS4 UCSF-MUHAS

Learning Objectives Be familiar with the idea of anatomical position Be familiar with the following body planes Sagittal Parasaggital Tranverse Coronal

Learning Objectives Superior Inferior Cranial Caudal Anterior Be familiar and be able to demonstrate with the following terms of relationship Superior Inferior Cranial Caudal Anterior Posterior Ventral Dorsal Proximal Distal Lateral Medial Ipsilateral Contralateral Superficial Deep External Internal Supine Prone Flexion Extension Adduction Abduction Circumduction

Learning Objectives cont. Be familiar with the following regions of the body Axial Head Neck Trunk Thorax Abdomen Pelvis Appendicular Upper extremity Shoulder Arm Forearm Hand Lower extremity Hip Thigh Leg Foot

Anatomical Position When referring to the body, it is important to be able to communicate with others clearly In order to simplify communicating the area of the body you are talking about, we will use the anatomical position as a reference.

Anatomical Position Body upright in the vertical axis Legs and feet parallel Arms hanging by sides Palms and face are directed forward

It is important to know the anatomical position as soon as possible, because all of the body planes and terms of anatomical reference use it Next…

Body Planes

Sagittal The median or sagittal plane passes through the body dividing it in right and left halves Parasagittal refers to cuts through the body that are parallel to the medial or sagittal line

Coronal The coronal or frontal plane passes through the body dividing it into front and back halves

Transverse the transverse or horizontal plane divides the body into upper and lower halves

Body planes combined

The body planes are very important to know, because some of the terms of reference use them Let’s check out the next…

anatomical terms of reference

Unfortunately or fortunately, there are many terms of reference that help us to pinpoint EXACTLY where we are referring to. Think of it as giving body directions General thought Most terms of reference have an opposite, which makes learning these terms a little easier Let’s get started…

Superior/Inferior Axis of reference = transverse Superior Inferior A structure is superior when it is above or on the upper side of another structure Inferior A structure is inferior when it is below or on the lower side of another structure Example The lungs are SUPERIOR to the liver…but, we could also say that the liver is INFERIOR to the lungs

Cranial/caudal Same as superior (cranial) and inferior (caudal) Cranial = toward the head Caudal = toward the detail These terms are especially important in developmental anatomy

Anterior/Posterior Axis of reference = coronal Anterior Posterior A structure is anterior when it is in front of another structure Posterior A structure is posterior when it is behind another structure Example The mouth is ANTERIOR to the ears and the ears are POSTERIOR to the mouth

Ventral/Dorsal Same as anterior (ventral) and posterior (dorsal) These terms are especially important in developmental anatomy In the feet and hands, the ventral surface changes names ventral surface of the hand = palmar ventral surface of the foot = plantar In both the hands and feet, the dorsal surface keeps its name

Superficial/Deep Axis of reference = the body surface and the center of the body or extremity, regardless of plane Superficial A structure that is superficial is closer to the skin than another structure Deep A structure that is deep is closer to the center of the body or extremity (and therefore, farther away from the skin or outer surface of the body) Example The abdominal muscles are SUPERFICIAL to the intestines; the intestines are DEEP to the abdominal muscles

External/Internal Same idea as superficial (external) and deep (internal) Superficial/external and deep/internal are used interchangeably

Medial/Lateral Axis of reference = sagittal plane Medial Lateral A structure that is medial is closer to the median or sagittal line Lateral A structure that is lateral is farther away from the median line Example The big toe is MEDIAL to the pinky toe; the pinky tow is LATERAL to the big toe

Ipsilateral/Contralateral Point of reference = sagittal plane Ipsilateral A structure is ipsilateral to a structure when it is on the same side of the body Contralateral A structure is contralteral to a structure when it is on the opposite side of the body Example The heart is IPSILATERAL to the left lung, but CONTRALATERAL to the right lung

Proximal/Distal Axis of reference = the center of the body Proximal usually used in reference to structures in the extremities Proximal A structure that is proximal is closer to the center of the body Distal A structure that is distal is farther away from the center of the body Example The knee is PROXIMAL to the ankle; the ankle is DISTAL to the knee, but proximal to the toes

Supine/Prone Axis of reference = coronal Supine Prone The body is supine when it is lying on its back ***The forearm is supine when it is in anatomical position Prone The body is prone when it is lying on its front ***The forearm is prone when the palmar aspect of the hand is turned toward the back of the body Supination and pronation are terms that refer to movement toward a supine or prone position; there are muscles in the forearm that include these words in their names, where they describe the action of the muscle

Adduction/Abduction Axis of reference = the center of the body or structure In the case of fingers and toes, the middle digit is considered to be the center These terms are used to describe movement in relation to the center of the body; you will see them used as parts of muscle names, where they describe the action of the muscle Adduction Movement toward the center of the body or structure Abduction Movement away from the center of the body or structure

Flexion/Extension Point of reference = the angle of a joint Flexion A movement that decreases the angle of a joint Extension A movement that increases the angle of a joint and/or restores the body to its original position are flexion has occurred Muscles often include terms of flexion (flexor) and extension (extensor) in their names Flexor digitorum profundus Extensor hallucis longus

Circumduction Point of reference = the center of a structure Circumduction is movement around the center of a structure The structure of the shoulder allows the upper extremity to circumduct the shoulder joint

Enough terms?! …let’s review them with a picture

You are almost through! Now that we have figured out body directions, let’s talk about…

Body regions

In its simplest form, the body can be broken up two regions Axial Appendicular Let’s look at each of these regions a little more closely

Axial The axial region is composed of three parts Head Neck Trunk

Appendicular The appendicular region refers to the extremities There are two types of extremities Upper extremity Lower extremity Both of the upper and lower extremity can be broken up into a smaller parts…

Upper Extremity The four regions of the upper extremity are Shoulder Arm Forearm Hand

Lower Extremity Just like the upper extremity, the lower extremity has four regions Hip Thigh Leg Foot

Review Whew…we finally made it. Good job! Let’s look back at everything you learned in the last hour

Anatomical position is a frame of reference that allows us to talk about the body There are 3 body planes that help us orient the body in a 3-dimensional world The anatomical terms of reference helps to talk to each other about where structures within the body are located in relationship to other structures There are two main body regions—the axial and appendicular Each of the two body regions can be broken into parts or subregions, allowing us to talk about the body in more exact and descriptive terms