Download Body Planes, Directions, & Cavities

Body Planes,
Directions, & Cavities
Principles of Health Science
Body Cavities
Why do we have body cavities?
Body Cavities are openings within the
torso which contain organs.
They protect delicate organs from
accidental shocks and bumps, and
permit the expansion and contraction of
organs without disrupting the activities of
other organs.
Body Planes
 Imaginary lines drawn through the body
to separate the body into sections



Transverse
Sagittal
Frontal or coronal
Transverse plane
 Horizontal plane that
divides the body into
a top & bottom half
Sagittal plane
 Divides the body into
left and right sides
 Midsagittal divides
the body into equal
left and right sides
Frontal (or coronal) plane
 Divides the body into
a front and back
section
Directions
 Superior vs inferior
 Cranial vs caudal
 Medial vs lateral
 Anterior vs posterior
 Dorsal vs ventral
 Proximal vs distal
Superior vs inferior
 Superior: towards
the top
 Inferior: towards
the bottom
Cranial vs caudal
 Cranial: towards the
head
 Caudal: towards the
tail
 More commonly
used in animals
 People: same as
superior/inferior
Medial vs lateral
 Medial: close or
towards the midline
 Lateral: away from
the midline
Anterior vs posterior
 Anterior: towards the
front of the body
 Posterior: towards
the back of the body
Dorsal vs ventral
 Dorsal: towards the
back
 Ventral: towards the
abdomen
 Use more commonly
in animals
 People: same as
anterior/posterior
Proximal vs distal
 Proximal: towards
the trunk
 Distal: away from the
trunk
Body Cavities
 Dorsal cavity


Cranial cavity
Spinal cavity
 Ventral cavity


Thoracic cavity
Abdominopelvic
cavity
 Abdominal cavity
 Pelvic cavity
 Orbital cavity (eyes)
 Nasal cavity (nose)
 Buccal cavity
(mouth)
Dorsal cavity
 Cranial cavity:
contains the brain
 Spinal cavity:
contains the spinal
cord
Ventral cavity
 Thoracic cavity: contains esophagus,
heart, lungs, trachea
 Abdominopelvic cavity


Abdominal cavity: stomach, small intestine,
liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen
Pelvic cavity: urinary bladder, reproductive
organ
 Diaphragm: muscle that separates the
thoracic cavity from the abdominopelvic
The portion of ventral
cavity superior to the
diaphragm.
 a. Pleural Cavities the spaces
surrounding each
lung.
 b. Mediastinum - a
broad middle tissue
mass of the thoracic
cavity dividing the
lungs into two
cavities.
Thoracic Cavity
 It includes the aorta,
other great blood
vessels, esophagus,
trachea, thymus,
pericardial cavity,
and heart.
 c. Pericardial Cavity space in which the
heart is located
Abdominal Cavity
 Abdominal Cavity - The superior portion
of the abdominopelvic cavity. It extends
from the diaphragm to the superior
margin of the pelvic girdle.
 Contains the organs known as the
viscera which include the stomach,
spleen, liver, gallbladder, pancreas,
small intestine, and most of the large
intestine.
Pelvic Cavity
 Surrounded by the pelvic bones.
 The pelvic cavity contains the urinary
bladder, cecum, appendix, sigmoid
colon, rectum, and the male or female
internal reproductive organs
Abdominal quadrants
 Four quadrants
with the umbilicus
at the center

RUQ
LUQ
RLQ
LLQ
Abdominal regions
Image Citations
 Slide 3: 8/27/06,




http://academic.kellogg.cc.mi.us/herbrandsonc/bio201_M
cKinley/chapter1.htm
Slide 4: Sagittal plane, 8/27/06,
http://www.tech.nite.go.jp/human/eng/contents/cindex/ref
erencedevelop.html
Slide 5: Frontal plane, 8/27/06,
http://www.tech.nite.go.jp/human/eng/contents/cindex/ref
erencedevelop.html
Slide 7 & 9 &12: Directional terms, 8/27/06,
http://www.lrn.org/Graphics/figure1.7.gif
Slide 8: Anatomical terms, planes, 8/27/06,
http://trc.ucdavis.edu/mjguinan/apc100/modules/termscell
s&tissues/introduction/planes/planes.html
Image Citations
 Slide 11: photo of a dog illustrating dorsal, ventral,
anterior and posterior, 8/27/06,
http://anthro.palomar.edu/animal/glossary.htm#bilateral_s
ymmetry
 Slide 14: Body cavities, 8/31/06,
http://www.templejc.edu/dept/biology/RHicks/biol2404Int/
biol2404onl_LAB.htm
 Slide 16, 17: Delmar Learning’s Medical Terminology
Image Library, Second Edition, Version 1.0, 2003.