Directional Terms and Body Planes

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Directional Terms
1. Anterior and Posterior
2. Ventral and Dorsal
3. Right and Left
4. Distal and Proximal
5. Median
6. Medial and Lateral
7. Superior and Inferior
8. External and Internal
9. Frontal and Occipital
3. Body Planes
1. Coronal
2. Sagittal
3. Transverse
4. Highlights

Introduction

Anatomical directional terms and body planes represent a universally accepted

language of anatomy, allowing precise communication between anatomists and
health professionals. The terms used to explain anatomical positioning are
described in relation to one standard position called the anatomical position. This
position is used to describe body parts and positions of patients regardless if they
are lying down, on their side or facing down. In the anatomical position, the person
is standing upright with arms to the side with the palms facing forward and thumbs
pointing away from the body, feet slightly apart and parallel to each other with the
toes pointing forward and the head facing forward and the eyes looking straight
ahead.

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Directional Terms

Directional terms allow description of one body part in relation to another.

Anterior and Posterior

Anterior indicates that the body part in question is “in front of” or “front”.Posterior
indicates that it is “in behind of” or “behind”.
Ventral and Dorsal
Ventral denotes towards the front of the body and dorsal means towards the
back of the body.
Right and Left
Right indicates to the “right side of” and left indicates to the “left side of”.
Distal and Proximal

Distal indicates that it is away or farthest away from the trunk of the body or the
point of origin of the body part. Proximal means that it is closest or towards the
trunk of the body or point of origin.
Median
Median or midline is an imaginary line down the middle of the body that splits the
body into equal left and right parts.
Medial and Lateral
Medial is towards the median whereas lateral is away from the median
and towards the side of the body.
Superior and Inferior
Superior is upwards or towards the vertex/top of the head whereas inferior
indicates the opposite: below or towards the feet.
External and Internal
Sometimes known as superficial, external denotes towards the surface. Internal is
also known as deep and denotes that it is away from the body surface.
Frontal and Occipital
Frontal refers towards the front of the brain whereas occipital means towards the
back of the brain.
Body Planes

Body planes are imaginary planes or flat surfaces that cut through and section the
body in its anatomical position.

Coronal

The coronal plane is a vertical plane that divides the body into anterior (front)
and posterior (back) parts.
Sagittal
The sagittal plane is also a vertical plane that splits the body
into left and rightparts. A sagittal plane that runs directly through the midline is
also called the midsagittal plane or median plane.
Transverse
The transverse plane is a horizontal plane. It divides the body into superior(upper)
and inferior (lower) portions. In anatomy, they are also referred to as a cross
section.