Directional Regions & Body Regions

I. Anatomical Position

- standing erect, with face forward, arms at sides, & palms & toes directed forward

I Can Objective

1. I can describe the anatomical position and can stand in it myself.

The Language of AnatomySpecial terminology is used to prevent misunderstanding

Exact terms are used forPosition

Direction

Regions

II. Directional Terms

A. Superior - towards or at the head/above

- the thoracic cavity is superior to the abdominopelvic cavity

B. Inferior - towards or at the feet/below

- the neck is inferior to the head

C. Anterior/Ventral - towards or at the front of the body

- the belly button is anterior to the buttocks

D. Posterior/Dorsal - towards or at the back of the body

- the spine/vertebral column is posterior to the breastbone/sternum

E. Medial - towards or at the midline of the body

- the nose is medial to the eyes

F. Lateral - towards or at the sides of the body

- the eyes are lateral to the chin

Lateral sub-terms

1. Ipsilateral - pertains to the same side

- the spleen & descending colon are ipsilateral

2. Contralateral - refers to opposite sides

- the spleen & gallbladder are contralateral

G. Proximal - closer to the point of attachment or trunk

- the elbow is proximal to the wrist

H. Distal - farther from the point of attachment or trunk

- the toes are distal to the knees

I. Superficial - towards or at the surface

- skin is superficial to muscles/epidermis is the superficial layer of skin

J. Deep - away from the surface/more internal

- lungs are deep to ribs/dermis is the deep layer of skin

Directional Terms

Table 1.1 (1 of 3)

Directional Terms

Table 1.1 (2 of 3)

Directional Terms

Table 1.1 (3 of 3)

I Can Objective

2. I can differentiate between the five sets of directional terms.

3. I can use the directional terms in examples of describing body parts in relation to other structures.

Body Planes and Sections

A sagittal section divides the body (or organ) into left and right parts

A median, or midsagittal, section divides the body (or organ) into equal left and right parts

A frontal (also known as a coronal) section divides the body (or organ) into anterior and posterior parts

A transverse, or cross, section divides the body (or organ) into superior and inferior parts

Body Planes and Sections

Figure 1.6

I Can Objective

5. I can draw a person in the anatomical position and draw lines through it denoting the planes of the body, midsagittal, frontal/coronal and transverse/ horizontal.

Body Cavities

Dorsal body cavityCranial cavity houses the brain

Spinal cavity houses the spinal cord

Ventral body cavityThoracic cavity houses heart, lungs and others

Pleural cavity houses the lungs

Pericardial cavity houses the heart

Abdominopelvic cavity houses digestive system and most urinary system organs

Body Cavities

Figure 1.7

Abdominopelvic Quadrants

Figure 1.8a

Abdominopelvic Regions

Figure 1.8b

Abdominopelvic Major Organs

Figure 1.8c

I Can Objective

7. I can draw a ‘t’ to label abdominopelvic quadrants and a tic-tac-toe board to label the abdominopelvic sudivisions.