Table of Contents
What are the 5 anatomical position?
The anatomical position is a standard point of reference commonly used in human anatomy and physiology when describing certain anatomical terms and positions. The five regions of the body are the head, neck, torso, upper extremities, and lower extremities.
What are the names for directional terms?
Up, Down, Side-to-Side: Directional Terms
| Anterior | At or near the front of the body (front view) |
|---|---|
| Medial | Nearer to midline (side view) |
| Superior | Toward the head/upper part of a structure (bird’s-eye view, looking down) |
| Inferior | Away from the head/lower part of a structure (bottom view, looking up) |
What is posterior anatomy?
Posterior in anatomy pertains to the back of the body. When describing a body part, it is either located posteriorly or anteriorly. If one is standing in the anatomical position, posterior refers to the back side, so the location of the body part is based on this.
What are the terms used in anatomy?
Directional terms
| Anterior | In front of or front |
|---|---|
| Dorsal | Towards the back of the body |
| Distal | Away or farthest away from the trunk or the point of origin of the body part |
| Proximal | Closer or towards the trunk or the point of origin of the body part |
| Median | Midline of the body |
What are the 3 main body planes?
What are the 3 planes of motion in the body?
- Sagittal Plane: Cuts the body into left and right halves. Forward and backward movements.
- Coronal (or Frontal Plane): Cuts the body into front and back halves. Side-to-side movements.
- Transverse Plane: Cuts the body into top and bottom halves. Twisting movements.
What is distal anatomy?
In medicine, refers to a part of the body that is farther away from the center of the body than another part. For example, the fingers are distal to the shoulder. The opposite is proximal.
Where is the distal?
Distal refers to sites located away from a specific area, most often the center of the body. In medicine, it refers to parts of the body further away from the center. For example, the hand is distal to the shoulder. The thumb is distal to the wrist.
What plane divides the body into superior and inferior parts?
Transverse Plane
Axial Plane (Transverse Plane) – A horizontal plane; divides the body or any of its parts into upper and lower parts.
What is proximal and distal?
In medicine, it refers to parts of the body further away from the center. For example, the hand is distal to the shoulder. The thumb is distal to the wrist. Distal is the opposite of proximal. Distal refers to distance, while proximal indicates proximity.
How do you remember anterior or posterior?
anterior/posterior: Their reference is to the long axis of the body. “ante-” as in “antenatal” and “antebellum” means “before” -> before the center of the body -> “toward the front side.” Posterior is even easier to remember, because we already use that term to mean “backside.”
What is dorsal and ventral in anatomy?
In general, ventral refers to the front of the body, and dorsal refers to the back. These terms are also known as anterior and posterior, respectively. However, for certain parts of the body, the uses of “ventral” and “dorsal” differ from the standard definition.
What is proximal or distal?