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1.2: Anatomical Position and Planes

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    59342
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    Information

    When anatomists or health professionals identify the location of a structure in the human body, they do so in reference to a body in anatomical position. That is, they figure out the location based on the assumption that the body is starting out in anatomical position.

    Anatomical position for a human is when the human stands up, faces forward, has arms extended, and has palms facing out.

    Drawing of a man and woman facing forward in anatomical position with palms open and feet slightly spread
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): These two people are both in anatomical position.  (CC-BY, Open Stax )    

                                                                                            

    When referencing a structure that is on one side of the body or the other, we use the terms “anatomical right” and “anatomical left.” Anatomical right means that the structure is on the side that a person in anatomical position would consider their right-hand side (not necessarily on the right of the viewer) and anatomical left means that the structure is the side that a person in anatomical position would consider their left-hand side (which likewise is not necessarily the left side of the viewer.)

     

    Anatomical planes

    Information

    To view the interior of a body, we expose the organs and structures that are visible when that body is cut open along one of four commonly used sectional planes. These planes are the different directions a body is cut to reveal different views of its internal structures.

    • Frontal plane—A vertical cut that separates the front from the back of the specimen. Also known as a coronal plane.
    • Transverse plane—A horizontal cut that separates the top from the bottom of the specimen. Also known as a cross-sectional plane.
    • Midsagittal plane—A vertical cut down the exact center line of the specimen that separates the left half from the right half.
    • Parasagittal plane—A vertical cut that is off-center that separates the left of the specimen from the right in unequal portions. It does not matter whether it is the left side or the right side that is larger, as long as they are not equal.
    Computer generated image of a person's head, showing the transverse cut as a sheet of paper going from the nose out the back of the head, the frontal (coronal) plane as a paper

    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): The different sectional planes used to expose internal structures.   (CC-BY-SA, JonRichfield, WiliMedia )     

     

    Anatomical Vocabulary

    Anatomical nouns and adjective for external body parts

    Information

    Like all areas of science, there is a lot of jargon associated with anatomy and physiology. Often terms are used within the field that differ from what we would name things in everyday conversation. Such jargon usually allows the specialist in the field to be more precise in what exactly they are referring to, but the jargon also can be intimidating and exclusionary. If you don’t know it, you are not in the club.

     

    LAB 1 EXERCISE \(\PageIndex{1}\)                                  

    Here are a bunch of anatomical adjectives (followed in parentheses by the noun version of the same term). For each, use your smart phone or laptop or whatever is most convenient to you to find what body part the term refers to. (Shortcut hint: the Google search engine will return definitions for words if you type “define: word” in the search box, leaving out the quotation marks.)

    Write down the body part or body region next to each term. Use Figure 1.4 to help you make sure you have the correct definition but look up each definition to make sure you are being accurate.

    1. Find the body part or region indicated by each of the following terms. Use everyday language to describe the part or region. (Forearm, belly, etc.)

    Abdominal (abdomen)

     

    Acromial (acromion)

     

    Antebrachial

    (antebrachium)

     

    Antecubital

    (antecubitis)

     

    Auricle (auris)

     

    Axillary (axilla)

     

    Brachial (brachium)

     

    Buccal (bucca)

     

    Carpal (carpus)

     

    Cephalic (cephalus)

     

    Cervical (cervicis)

     

    Coxal (coxa)

     

    Cranial (cranium)

     

    Crural (crus)

     

    Digital (digit)

     

    Dorsal (dorsa)

     

    Facial (facies)

     

    Femoral (femur)

     

    Frontal (frons)

     

    Gluteal (gluteus)

     

    Inguinal (inguen)

     

    Lumbar (lumbus)

     

    Mammary (mamma)

     

    Manual (manus)

     

    Mental (mentis)

     

    Nasal (nasus)

     

    Olecranal (olecranon)

     

    Oral (oris)

     

    Ocular (oculus)

     

    Palmar (palma)

     

    Patellar (patella)

     

    Pelvic (pelvis)

     

    Plantar (planta)

     

    Popliteal (popliteus)

     

    Pubic (pubis)

     

    Sacrum (sacral)

     

    Sural (sura)

     

    Tarsal (tarsus)

     

    Thoracic (thorax)

     

    Umbilical (umbilicus)

     

     

     

    This illustration shows an anterior and posterior view of the human body. The cranial region encompasses the upper part of the head while the facial region encompasses the lower half of the head beginning below the ears. The eyes are referred to as the ocular region. The cheeks are referred to as the buccal region. The ears are referred to as the auricle or otic region. The nose is referred to as the nasal region. The chin is referred to as the mental region. The neck is referred to as the cervical region. The trunk of the body contains, from superior to inferior, the thoracic region encompassing the chest, the mammary region encompassing each breast, the abdominal region encompassing the stomach area, the coxal region encompassing the belt line, and the pubic region encompassing the area above the genitals. The umbilicus, or naval, is located at the center of the abdomen. The pelvis and legs contain, from superior to inferior, the inguinal or groin region between the legs and the genitals, the pubic region surrounding the genitals, the femoral region encompassing the thighs, the patellar region encompassing the knee, the crural region encompassing the lower leg, the tarsal region encompassing the ankle, the pedal region encompassing the foot and the digital/phalangeal region encompassing the toes. The great toe is referred to as the hallux. The regions of the upper limbs, from superior to inferior, are the axillary region encompassing the armpit, the brachial region encompassing the upper arm, the antecubital region encompassing the front of the elbow, the antebrachial region encompassing the forearm, the carpal region encompassing the wrist, the palmar region encompassing the palm, and the digital/phalangeal region encompassing the fingers. The thumb is referred to as the pollux. The posterior view contains, from superior to inferior, the cervical region encompassing the neck, the dorsal region encompassing the upper back and the lumbar region encompassing the lower back. The regions of the back of the arms, from superior to inferior, include the cervical region encompassing the neck, acromial region encompassing the shoulder, the brachial region encompassing the upper arm, the olecranal region encompassing the back of the elbow, the antebrachial region encompasses the back of the arm, and the manual region encompassing the palm of the hand. The posterior regions of the legs, from superior to inferior, include the gluteal region encompassing the buttocks, the femoral region encompassing the thigh, the popliteus region encompassing the back of the knee, the sural region encompassing the back of the lower leg, and the plantar region encompassing the sole of the foot. Some regions are combined into larger regions. These include the trunk, which is a combination of the thoracic, mammary, abdominal, naval, and coxal regions. The cephalic region is a combination of all of the head regions. The upper limb region is a combination of all of the arm regions. The lower limb region is a combination of all of the leg regions.

    Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): The human body is shown in anatomical position in an (a) anterior view and a (b) posterior view. The regions of the body are labeled in boldface. (CC-BY, Open Stax )

     

    Anatomical Orientation and Directions

    Information

    To be able to direct others to specific anatomical structures, or to find structures based on someone else’s directions, it is useful to have specific pairs of terms that allow you to orient your search with respect to the location of another, known structures. The following pairs of terms are used to make comparisons. Each term is used to orient a first structure or feature with respect to the position of a second structure or feature.

    • Superior/Inferior–Equivalent to above and below when moving along the long axis of a body in anatomical position. The structure that is superior to another is above the second structure when the body is in anatomical position. A feature that is inferior to another is below the second feature when the body is in anatomical position.
    • Proximal/Distal–Equivalent to near and far. Usually used to orient the positions of structures and features along the limbs with respect to the trunk of the body. A feature that is proximal to something else is closer to the limb’s point of attachment to the trunk. A structure that is distal to something else is farther away from the limb’s point of attachment. Less precisely but still occasionally used in the trunk of the body itself to indicate whether something is closer to (proximal) or farther away from (distal) something else.
    • Medial/Lateral–Equivalent to towards the middle or towards the edge. Used with respect to the midline of the trunk of a body in anatomical position. A structure that medial to another is closer to the midline of the body’s trunk. A feature that is lateral to another is farther away from the midline of the trunk.
    • Anterior/Posterior–Equivalent to the front and back of a body in anatomical position. A structure that is anterior to another is closer to the front of the body when the body is in anatomical position. A feature that is posterior to another is closer to the back of the body when the body is in anatomical position.
    • Ventral/Dorsal–Equivalent to belly-side and back-side of a body in anatomical position. For a human in anatomical position, this pair of terms is equivalent to anterior and posterior. However, for four-legged animals in what is considered their anatomical position, the belly-side is not equivalent to the front of the animal. A structure that is ventral to another is closer to the belly-side of the body. A feature that is dorsal to another is closer to the back of the body.
    • Superficial/Deep–Equivalent to closer to the surface and farther from the surface.
    • Cephalic/Caudal–Equivalent to closer to the head and closer to the tail. This is more useful for four-legged animals with tails than for upright humans with only a vestigial tail.
    Image displaying pairs of terms providing anatomical direction or orientation on body images as discussed immediately above

    Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): Pairs of terms providing anatomical direction or orientation. (CC-BY-SA, Osteomyoamare, WikiMedia)  

     

    clipboard_e3643dbd410a6b828e929223b063d5cdf.png
    Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): Cross-section of the thigh. (CC-BY-SA, Marshall Strother, WikiMedia)  

     

    LAB 1 EXERCISE \(\PageIndex{2}\)                               

    1.  Fill in the blank with the appropriate directional term to complete the following sentences. More than one answer may be correct.

    • The heart is                        to the lungs.
    • The knee is                        to the hip.
    • The wrist is                        to the hand.
    • The mouth is                        to the nose.
    • The thorax is                        to the abdomen.
    • The thumb is                        to the ring finger.
    • The sternum is                        to the heart.
    • The skull is                        to the scalp.
    • The ears are                        to the nose.
    • Dorsal refers to the                        of the human body, while ventral refers to the                              of the human body.

     

    2.  Find the indicated structures in the diagrams provided, based on the directional terms given. The structure to find will be one of those at the end of an unlabeled line.

    A.  Label the extensor digitorum (ED) muscle in the figure below. It is:

    • Distal to the anconeus muscle
    • Lateral to the extensor digiti minimi muscle
    • Superficial to the Extensor pollicis brevis muscle

     

    Muscles of the forearm to be identified

    Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\): Muscles of the forearm (CC-BY, Open Stax )

    B.  Label the Incus in the figure below. It is:

    • Superior to the lateral end of the cochlear nerve
    • Medial to the malleus

     

    Image of ear

    Figure \(\PageIndex{7}\): Anatomy of the human ear.  (CC-BY-SA, Chittka L, Brockmann, WikiMedia)      

    • Lateral to the stapes

    3.  Using your knowledge of the different body planes shown in Figure 1-2 (shown again below), fill in the blanks with the appropriate body plane for each of the following descriptions.

    1.     The plane that divides the body into anterior and posterior parts is the

                                         plane.

    2.     A transverse plane divides the body into and  

    regions.

    3.     A                                or plane divides the body into right and left parts.

     

    clipboard_e8d465530b9c4031aa6dbd4ae26dc1efc.png
    Figure \(\PageIndex8}\): 

     

                                                                                          

    LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS

    CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL

    A&P Labs. Authored by: Ross Whitwam. Provided by: Mississippi University for Women. Located at: http://www.muw.edu/. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

     

    Figure \(\PageIndex{7}\).. Anatomy of the human ear.. Authored by: Chittka L, Brockmann. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...man_Ear_en.svg. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution- ShareAlike 

     


    1.2: Anatomical Position and Planes is shared under a CC BY-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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