Lecture 1 Introduction

Introduction Human anatomy is the morphological study of human body including gross anatomy, histology and embryology Physiology is the study of function of these structures. Anatomy is divided into: Gross anatomy or macroscopic anatomy: is the study of structure that can be seen with the naked eye Microscopic anatomy: is the study of structures by the microscope including tissue or cells

Anatomical position  standard position of the body used when describing body parts and their relation to each other: standing erect, facing forward, feet together arms at the side palms facing forward

Body positions Standing Sitting Squatting Kneeling Lying Lithotomy Lateral recumbent

Planes of the body The main planes and their subplanes are : Sagittal: Plane that runs down through the body, dividing the body into left and right portions. Subsections of the sagittal plane include: Midsagittal runs through the median plane and divides along the line of symmetry Parasagittal is parallel to midline but does not divide into equal left and right portions.

Planes of the body Coronal (frontal): Plane that runs perpendicular to the sagittal plane and divides the body into anterior and posterior (front and back) portions. Transverse: Horizontal plane that divides the body into upper and lower portions; also called cross-section.