1. Anatomical/ Directional Terms
proximal
distal
lateral
medial
superior
(cranial)
inferior
(caudal)
anterior
(ventral)
NOT SHOWN
posterior
(dorsal)
Distal - further from trunk
Proximal - closer to trunk
Lateral - away from midline
Medial - closer to midline
Anterior - front side (aka ventral)
Posterior - back side (aka dorsal)
Superior - closer to head (aka cranial)
Inferior - further from head (aka caudal)
Superficial - closer to surface
Deep - further from surface
Plantar - bottom of foot
Dorsal - top of foot

2. PLANES PLANE -- a two-dimensional surface defined by 3 points
not on the same line (i.e. not colinear)
pt 2
pt 1
pt 3
PLANE
MOTION OCCURS “IN A PLANE”

3. Leg Swing during gait (walking/running)
Plane
Even though leg has considerable thickness - only consider the
joint centers and the lines connecting them; so “thin” segments
define the leg which swings “IN THE PLANE”

4. AXES AXIS -- a line passing AXIS perpendicularly through a plane PLANE
MOTION OCCURS “ABOUT AN AXIS”

5. Leg Swing during gait (walking/running)
AXIS
AXIS PASSES THROUGH JOINT CENTER

6. Motion occurs “IN A PLANE”
AXIS
PLANE
Motion occurs “ABOUT AN AXIS”

7. Body Planes
Sagittal -- vertical plane that divides the body into RIGHT and LEFT parts
Frontal -- vertical plane that divides the body into ANTERIOR and POSTERIOR parts
Transverse -- horizontal planes that divides the body into TOP and BOTTOM parts
Transverse
Plane
Sagittal Plane
Frontal

8. Cardinal or “Mid” Planes
DEFINITION -- if a plane passes through the body such that it divides it into equal mass halves
INTERSECTION -- the point at which the mid-sagittal, mid-frontal, and mid-transverse planes intersect is the CENTER OF MASS
MID-SAGGITAL
PLANE
SAGITTAL

9. Body Planes & Axes Sagittal Plane = Medial-Lateral Axis (ML)
Frontal Plane = Anterior-Posterior Axis (AP)
Transverse Plane = Longitudinal Axis

10. Sagittal Plane Movements

11. Sagittal Plane Joint Mvmts
flexion = decrease angle between 2 segs
extension = increase angle between 2 segs

12. Sagittal Plane Joint Mvmts
dorsiflexion = point toes up (towards shin)
plantar flexion = point toes down

13. Frontal Plane Movements

14. Frontal Plane Joint Mvmts
abduction = move away from midline
adduction = move towards midline

15. Frontal Plane Joint Mvmts
elevation = move shoulder girdle superiorly
depression = move shoulder girdle inferiorly

16. Frontal Plane Joint Mvmts
inversion = lift medial border of foot
eversion = lift lateral border of foot

17. Frontal Plane Joint Mvmts
radial deviation = move toward radial styloid
ulnar deviation = move toward ulnar styloid

18. Frontal Plane Joint Mvmts
L/R lateral bending = bend trunk to L/R

19. Transverse Plane Movements

20. Transverse Plane Joint Mvmts
L/R rotation = anterior surface movement about longitudinal axis
medial rotation = anterior surface rotates medially
lateral rotation = anterior surface rotates laterally

21. Transverse Plane Joint Mvmts
supination = rotate thumb laterally
pronation = rotate thumb medially

22. Transverse Plane Joint Mvmts
horizontal adduction = move towards midline in transverse plane
horizontal abduction = move away from midline in transverse plane

23. Circumduction =
Flexion
+ Abduction
+ Adduction
+ Extension