Download anatomical terms 1

ANATOMICAL PLANES
• MEDIAN (Midsagittal) PLANE- Splitting
body into L and R sides
• FRONTAL PLANE – Splitting Body from
Front to Back
• TRANSVERSE PLANE – Splitting Body
from Lower to Upper
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HUMAN ANATOMY TERMS
Superior - toward the head
Inferior - away from the head
Anterior - the front of the body or body part
Posterior - the back of the body or body part
Medial - toward the midline that divides left and right
Lateral - to the side away from the midline
Proximal - closer to the origin
Distal - farther away from the origin
Anatomical position - standing erect, facing the
observer, arms are at the sides with palms facing
forward.
SUPERIOR – toward the head
• SUPERIOR--means in the direction of the top of the
head or the top of the body. Saying "up" is often
inaccurate because if a person is lying on their back,
"up" is really anterior, so using the term "superior"
is superior because it is always references towards
the head's aspect of the anatomical part in question.
The whole body or any part can be moved superiorly
if it moves in the direction of the head.
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INFERIOR – away from head
• INFERIOR--means in the direction of the soles of the
feet and situated below or directed downward. It can
also refer to that part of the body or body part
closest to the feet (such as "the inferior aspect of the
chin"). The whole body can be moved inferiorly if it
moves in the direction of the feet.
LATERAL – to the side away from
the midline
• LATERAL--refers to the sides of the body. There is a
left and right lateral (side) aspect to just about every
anatomical part as well as the body in general. When
the term lateral aspect is used it refers to that
component of anatomy away from the midline of the
trunk. When something moves laterally, it moves
away from the midline.
MEDIAL toward the midline that divides left
and right
• MEDIAL--refers to the center or midline of the body
or body part. When an anatomical structure is said to
be medial, it is more towards the midline of the
torso. Often, the term, medial aspect, is used and
that refers to that component of anatomy closest to
the midline of the trunk. Something moves medially
if it moves towards the midline.
ANTERIOR – the front of the body
or body part
• ANTERIOR--means toward the front of the body. One
can move a body part anteriorly by moving it
towards the front of the body. A body part can have
an anterior aspect, that being that component
closest to the front of the body. From the word
"ante" which refers to something "up front," before,
or at the beginning, such as in antebellum (before
the Civil War) or like what you do before you play a
hand of "penny-"ante" poker. You put up a penny up
front as a bet.
POSTERIOR – the back of the
body or body part
• POSTERIOR--means toward the back surface or rear
of the body, such as getting kicked in your
"posterior." It can reference a part of the body in
relation to another such as the vertebral bone parts
that are closest to the back surface of the body are
referred to as the posterior elements. One can also
move a body part to the posterior by moving it
towards the back surface of the body.
PROXIMAL – closer to the origin or
torso
DISTAL – farther away from origin
or torso