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Anatomical position
In the standard anatomical position, the body is upright, directly facing the
observer, feet flat and directed forward. The upper limbs are at the bodys sides
with the palms facing forward.
Body planes
Body planes are used to describe specific sections or regions of the body. The
sections are planes produced in the body to reveal its internal anatomy. There are
three main sections:
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Imagine a person standing in an upright position. Now imagine dissecting this
person with imaginary vertical and horizontal planes. This is the best way to
describe anatomical planes. Anatomical planes can be used to describe any body
part or an entire body.
Lateral Plane or Sagittal Plane: Imagine a vertical plane that runs through your
body from front to back or back to front. This plane divides the body into right and
left regions.
Median or Midsagittal Plane: Sagittal plane that divides the body into equal
right and left regions.
Parasagittal Plane: Sagittal plane that divides the body into unequal right
and left regions.
Frontal Plane or Coronal Plane: Imagine a vertical plane that runs through the
center of your body from side to side. This plane divides the body into front
(anterior) and back (posterior) regions.
Transverse Plane: Imagine a horizontal plane that runs through the midsection of
your body. This plane divides the body into upper (superior) and lowers (inferior)
regions.
Understanding anatomical directional terms and body planes will make it easier to
study anatomy. It will help you to be able to visualize positional and special
locations of structures and navigate directionally from one area to another.
Another strategy that can be employed to help you visualize anatomical structures
and their positions is to use study aids such as anatomy coloring books and flash
cards. It may seem a bit juvenile, but coloring books and review cards actually help
you to visually comprehend the information.
Imagine that when youre studying a (correctly anatomically positioned) body youre
looking at a map.
Like you use the cardinal directions to explain the location of certain regions (north,
northwest, southeast, etc.), you use directional terms to describe the regions of the
body.
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Anatomical Directional Terms
Anatomical directional terms can also be applied to the planes of the body. Below
are examples of some commonly used anatomical directional terms and planes of
the body. Here are some commonly used directional terms:
At or near the front of the body (front view). In front of, front
Anterior or ventral
The toes are anterior to the foot.
Posterior or dorsalAt or near the back of the body (back view). After, behind,
following, toward
the rear
Midline An imaginary vertical line that divides the body equally (right
down the
middle)
Lateral Farther from midline (side view). Toward the side, away from
the mid-line
Inferior or caudal Away from the head/lower part of a structure (bottom view,
looking up).
Below, under
Some anatomical structures contain anatomical terms in their names that help
identify their position in relation to other body structures or divisions within the
same structure. Some examples include the anterior and posterior pituitary,
superior and inferior venae cavae, the median cerebral artery, and the axial
skeleton.
Affixes (word parts that are attached to base words) are also useful in describing the
position of anatomical structures. These prefixes and suffixes give us hints about
the locations of body structures. For example, the prefix (para-) means near or
within. The parathyroid glands are located on the posterior side of the thyroid.
The prefix (epi-) means upper or outermost. The epidermis is the outermost skin
layer. The prefix (ad-) means near, next to, or toward. The adrenal glands are
located attached at the top the kidneys.
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It contains liver, gallbladder, duodenum, head of pancreas, right kidney
and adrenal gland, hepatic flexure of colon, part of ascending colon, Right
upper quadrant transverse colon. The RUQ is seen from the subject's point of
view.
It contains the stomach, spleen, part of the pancreas, parts of the small
Left upper quadrant
and large intestines. The LUQ is seen from the subject's point of view.
It contains parts of the small and large intestines, right ovary, right
fallopian tube, appendix, right ureter. The RLQ is seen from the subject's
Right lower quadrant point of view.
It contains part of descending colon, sigmoid colon, left ovary and tube,
left ureter, left spermatic cord. The LLQ is seen from the subject's point Left
lower quadrant of view.
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At the top right region; most of the liver, gallbladder as Right hypochondriac
seen from the region
subject's point of view.
At the top left region: Stomach. The left hypochondria Left hypochondriac
region is seen region
from the subject's point of view.
In the middle right region; ascending colon, right kidney, Right lumbar region
as seen from
the subject's point of view.
In the middle left region, descending colon, Left kidney, Left lumbar region
small intestine
as seen from the subject's point of view.
At the bottom right region; Cecum, Appendix as seen from Right iliac region
the subject's
point of view
At the bottom left region as seen from the subject's point Left iliac region
of view.
At the top centre region; lying on or over the stomach Epigastric region
1. Head (the part of your body that contains your brain, eyes, ears, mouth, nose,
etc.)
1.1. Skull (the bones in your head that protect the brain)
1.2. Brain (the part inside your head that controls your thoughts, feelings, and
movements)
1.3. Hair (the thin threads that grow on the head and body of people and
animals)
1.4. Forehead (the part of your face between your eyes and your hair) (fhed
1.5. Face (the front part of the head where the eyes, nose, and mouth are)
1.5.1. Eyes (one of the two organs in your face that you use to see with)
(sense of sight)
1.5.2. Cheek (one of the two soft parts of your face below your eyes)
1.5.3. Nose (the part of your face that you breathe through and smell with)
(sense of smell)
1.5.4. Mouth (the part of the face that is used for eating and speaking)
(sense of taste)
1.5.5. Tongue (t) (the large, soft piece of flesh in the mouth that you can
move, and is used for tasting, speaking, etc)
1.5.6. Tooth (s)/Teeth (pl) (one of the hard, white objects in the mouth that
are used for biting and chewing (= crushing food)
1.5.7. Chin (tn)( the part of a person's face below their mouth)
1.5.8. Ear (r)(one of the two parts of the body on your head that you hear
with) (sense of hearing)
2. Neck (the part of the body between your head and your shoulders)
3. Trunk, Torso (the human body considered without head, arms, or legs)
3.1. Torax
3.1.1. Chest (the front of your body between your neck and your stomach)
3.1.2. Breast (brest)(mammary gland: an organ in a woman's breast that
produces milk to feed a baby)
3.1.3. Pharynx [faringks]. (the part of the throat that leads from the mouth
and nasal passages to the oesophagus/esophagus)
3.1.4. Larynx (lriks)(the upper part of the throat that contains the vocal
cords; voice box)
3.1.5. Trachea /trki.. the tube in the body that carries air that has been
breathed in from the upper end of the throat to the lungs:
3.1.6. Lungs (either of the two organs in the chest with which people
breathe)
3.1.7. Bronchus, Bronchi /br.ks/ plural bronchi UK br/-ka. one of the
two tubes that branch from the trachea (= tube that carries air from the
throat to the lungs) and carry air into the lungs
3.1.8. Thorax bones:
3.1.8.1. Ribs: (one of the curved bones in the chest)
3.1.8.2. Rib cage (the structure of ribs (= curved bones) in the chest)
(=
3.1.8.3. Breastbone (the long flat bone in the front of the chest which
is connected to the collarbone and the first seven pairs of ribs;
sternum)
3.1.8.4. Spine (a long line of bones in a persons back) (the line of
linked bones running down the back of humans)
3.1.9. Chest (the front of your body between your neck and your stomach)
3.1.10.Heart (the organ in your chest that sends the blood around your
body)
3.1.11.Waist (the part around the middle of your body where you wear a
belt)
3.1.12.Diaphragma (dafrm/)( the large muscle between your lungs and
your stomach that moves up and down to move air in and out of the
lungs)
3.1.13.Ribs
Remember, there is universal agreement in the field of anatomy that the relative
description of the human body is always in a specific position called anatomical
position. In this position, the individual is standing upright, face forward, with
the upper limbs positioned at the sides, the palms turned forward, and the feet
flat on the floor.
Exercise 1
Directional terms are used by anatomists to locate numerous body structures
in relationship to one another. Label the following directional terms on Figure B,
based on their description below. Then, using the same directional terms, fill in
the blanks to describe the body parts relationship to one another.
1) Superior: toward the head or upper part of a structure. Example: The head is
superior to the shoulders.
2) Inferior: away from the head or toward the lower part of a structure.
Example: The intestines are inferior to the lungs
3) Anterior (also known as ventral): toward the front of the body. Example: The
trachea is anterior to the esophagus.
4) Posterior (also known as dorsal): toward the back of the body. Example: The
esophagus is posterior to the trachea.
5) Medial: locating a structure nearer to the midline of the body, this divides the
body into equal right and left halves. Example: The ulna is medial to the
radius.
6) Lateral: locating a structure further from the midline of the body. Example:
The lungs are lateral to the heart.
7) Intermediate: being between two structures. Example: The index finger is
intermediate to the thumb and middle finger.
8) Proximal: nearer to the point of attachment of an appendage to the trunk of
the body. Example: The knee is proximal to the shin.
9) Distal: farther from the point of attachment of an appendage to the trunk of
the body. Example: The elbow is distal the shoulder.
10) Superficial: toward or on the surface of the body. Example: The skin is
superficial to the muscles.
11) Deep: away from the surface of the body. Example: The ribs are deep to the
skin.
Exercise 2
Complete the sentences about location and directional terms in the human body:
The heart is ________________ to the lungs.
The thumb is _________________ to the wrist.
The kneecap is _________________to the ankle.
The nose lies on the __________________ surface of the body.
The eyes are located _______________ to the nose.
The ears are situated _______________ to the head.
The upper arm muscle is _______________ to the skin.
The ring finger is located _______________relative to the thumb.
The spine is located _________________.
The esophagus is located _______________to the trachea.
A. Midsaggital plane- separates the body into equal right and left halves
B. Parasaggital plane- separates the body into unequal right and left halves
C. Frontal/Coronal plane- vertical plane that separates the body into
anterior and posterior sections
D. Tranverse/Cross/Horizontal plane- divides the body into superior and
inferior portions
Exercise 4
The organs within the body are located within body cavities. Each of these
cavities is lined with membranes and contains organs. The major body
cavities include the cranial cavity, which houses the brain, the thoracic
cavity for the heart and lungs, the abdominal cavity, mainly for the digestive
organs, and finally the pelvic cavity, for the reproductive organs. Label the
cavities on Figure E.
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Exercise 5
Since the abdominopelvic cavity is so large, it is further divided into
quadrants. Label Figure with the appropriate quadrant name. The choices
are . . .
Right Upper Quadrant (RUQ)
Right Lower Quadrant (RLQ)
Left Upper Quadrant (LUQ)
Left Lower Quadrant (LLQ)
1 2
4 3
Exercise 6
For anatomical studies, a nine-region division is more widely used. The nine-
region division allows us to place organs and structures in a fairly precise
manner. The four quadrant system is generally used by clinicians to locate
the side of pain, tumors, and other abnormalities.
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