Download Anatomical Terminology

Anatomical Terminology
Anatomical Position
 Viewed
from the anterior surface with the
palms facing forward.
 Supine: describes the position of lying
down, facing up.
 Prone: describes the position of lying
down, facing down.
Anatomical Directions
Front-Back
 Anterior: refers to the front of the body
 is often used to describe the relationship between
structures, often with reference to the body.
 e.g. The lungs are found anterior to the heart.
 Ventral is often considered the same as Anterior
 Posterior: refers to the back of the body
 is often used to describe the relationship between
structures, often with reference to the body.
 e.g. The stomach is posterior to the liver.
 Dorsal is often considered the same as Posterior
Anatomical Direction
Up-Down
 Cranial:
refers to the top of the head- or a
structure being closer to the head.



Cranial and superior mean virtually the same
thing.
e.g. the neck is cranial to the chest
Caudal: refers to a structure being closer to
the feet, or lower than another structure.

Inferior is comparable to caudal, however refers
to tail, more than feet; Inferior would be used to
describe structures below the tail bone (coccyx)
In the Middle


Medial- refers to a structure being closer to the middle
sagittal plane (Median Plane- body’s longitudinal axis)
than another structure.
 Medial is toward the body’s longitudinal axis
 Proximal: is similar to medial but only used in
reference to a limb. Closer to the root of the limb.
Lateral- refers to a structure being farther away form the
median plane (the middle Sagittal Plane) * Lateral Pass.
 Distal: similar to lateral but only used in reference to
a limb. Farther away form the root of a limb.
Inside-Out
 Superficial:
means relatively close to the
body surface.
 Deep: means further away from the
surface and infers “internal”
 Ipsilateral: means on the same side- of a
reference point.
 Contralateral: means on the opposite side
of a reference point.
Major Regions of the Body

Cephalic- head
 Cervical- neck
 Thoracic- chest
 Abdominal- abdomen
 Pelvic- pelvis(hips)
 Lumbar- lower back
 Gluteal- buttock (gluteus maximus)
 Pubic- anterior pelvis
 Axillary- armpit
 Brachial- arm
 Manual- hand
 Femoral- thigh
Body Cavities
 Dorsal


Body Cavity includes…
Cranial cavity- encloses the brain
Spinal cavity- encloses the spinal cord
 Ventral

Body Cavity includes…
Thoracic cavity-within the chest wall
• Pleural cavities (2) surround each lung
• Pericardial cavity surrounds the heart

Abdominopelvic Cavity- within the abdomen
and pelvic girdle
Cavity Membranes




Body cavities are lined with serousal membranes.
 Parietal portion of the serous membrane from the
OUTER wall of the body cavity
 Visceral portion covers surfaces of the internal organs
where they protrude into the body cavity.
 Consider a Peanut…
• Shell is the body wall, fibrous membrane attached
to the inside of the shell is the parietal membrane,
the peanut itself is the body organ, the skin on the
peanut would be like a visceral membrane.
Example: Peritoneum-lines the abdominopelvic or
“peritoneal cavity”
Pericardium- covers the heart
Pleura- lines the pleural cavity that contains the lungs.