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

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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.

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

7. 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…

8. Body Planes

9. 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

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

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

12. Body planes combined

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

14. anatomical terms of reference

15. 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…

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

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

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

32. Body regions

33. 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

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

35. 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…

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

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

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

39. 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