Dorsal Back/ Toward the back

Proximal Nearest/ Closer to a

point of attachment
Distal Distant/ Farther from a
point of attachment
Medial Toward the midline
Lateral Away from the midline
ANATOMICAL POSITION Superficial Toward to the surface
- in the anatomical position, the body is of the body
standing erect and facing forward, the feet Deep Toward the interior of
are together, and the arms are hanging at the body
the sides with the palms facing forward

BODY PARTS AND REGIONS

- used to designate specific areas within
The major body divisions

CENTAL REGION OF THE BODY (AXIAL PARTS)

1. Head
2. Neck
3. Trunk- can be divided into:
a) Throrax (Chest)
b) Abdomen (region between thorax and
pelvis)
c) Pelvis (inferior end of the trunk
associated with the hips)

UPPER LIMB (APPENDICULAR PARTS)

1. Arm- extends from the shoulder to the elbow
2. Forearm- extends from the elbow to wrist
DIRECTIONAL TERMS
3. Wrist
- describe parts of the body relative to each
4. Hand
other
LOWER LIMB (APPENDICULAR PARTS)
TERM DEFINITION 1. Thigh- extends from the hip to the knee
Supine Lying face upward 2. Leg- extends from the knee to the ankle
Prone Lying face downward 3. Ankle
Superior Higher/ above 4. Foot
Inferior Lower/ below
Anterior Front/ Toward the ABDOMEN (APPENDICULAR PARTS)
front of the body - often subdivided superficially into four
Posterior Back/ toward the back sections or quadrants by to imaginary lines
of the body that intersect at the navel
Ventral Belly/ Toward the belly
a. Quadrants- right-upper (RUQ), left-upper PLANES
(LUQ), right-lower (RLQ), and left-lower - imaginary flat surface
(LLQ) - the body is often cut, or sectioned, along
b. Regions- uses four imaginary lines that a flat surface
created an imaginary tic-tac-toe figure on
the abdomen, resulting nine regions: TERMS
1. Epigastric- located superior to the Sagittal Plane Runs vertically through
umbilical region the body and separates
2. Right hypochondriac- lie lateral to it into right and left
the epigastric region and deep to the parts
ribs (chondro = cartilage) Median Plane A sagittal plane that
3. Left hypochondriac- lie lateral to the passes though the
epigastric region and deep to the ribs midline of the body,
(chondro = cartilage) dividing it into equal
4. Umbilical- the centermost region right and left halves
deep to and surrounding the umbilicus Transverse/ Horizontal Runs parallel to the
(navel) Plane surface of the ground,
5. Right lumbar- lie lateral to the dividing the body into
umbilical region (lumbus = loin) superior and inferior
6. Left lumbar- lie lateral to the parts
umbilical region (lumbus = loin) Frontal/ Coronal Plane Runs vertically from
7. Hypogastric- located inferior to the right to left and divides
umbilical region the body into anterior
8. Right iliac- located lateral to the and posterior parts
hypogastric region (iliac = superior part Longitudinal Section A cut through the long
of the hip bone) axis of the organ
9. Left iliac- located lateral to the Transverse Section/ A cut at a right angle to
hypogastric region (iliac = superior part Cross Section the long axis
of the hip bone) Oblique Section A cut is made across
the long axis at other
than a right angle

BODY CAVITIES
- these cavities are closed to the outside and
provide different degrees of protection to
the organs contained within them.
1. NASAL CAVITY
- Open to the outside of the body
- located within and posterior to the nose, the
nasal cavity is part of the respiratory system
passageways
2. DORSAL BODY CAVITY
- which protects the fragile nervous system
organs, has two subdivisions
a. CRANIAL CAVITY
- in the skull, encases the brain
b. VERTEBRAL OR SPINAL CAVITY
- runs within the bony vertebral
column, encloses the delicate spinal
cord. The spinal cord is essentially a
continuation of the brain, and the
cranial and spinal cavities are
continuous with one another.
3. VENTRAL BODY CAVITY
- the more anterior and larger of the closed
body cavities
- has two major subdivisions:
a. THORACIC CAVITY
- superior subdivision,is surrounded by
the ribs and muscles of the chest
- It is further subdivided into lateral
pleural cavities each enveloping a lung,
and the medial mediastinum. The
mediastinum contains the pericardial
cavity, which encloses the heart, and it
also surrounds the remaining thoracic
organs (esophagus, trachea, and
others).
- The thoracic cavity is separated from
the more inferior abdominopelvic cavity
by the diaphragm, a dome-shaped
muscle important in breathing.
b. ABDOMINOPELVIC CAVITY
- has two parts.
- these regions are not physically
separated by a muscular or membrane wall
- the abdominal and pelvic cavities are
not aligned with each other. Instead, the
bowl-shaped pelvis tips away from the
perpendicular
- the ventral body cavity houses internal
organs collectively called the viscera or
visceral organs.
4. ABDOMINAL CAVITY
- is bounded primarily by the abdominal
muscles and contains the stomach, the
intestines, the liver, the spleen, the pancreas,
and the kidneys.
5. PELVIC CAVITY
- is a small space enclosed by the bones of the
pelvis and contains the urinary bladder, part
of the large intestine, and the internal
reproductive organs.
6. ORAL AND DIGESTIVE CAVITIES
- commonly called the mouth, contains the
teeth and tongue
- it is part of and continuous with the cavity of
the digestive organs, which opens to the
body exterior at the anus.
7. ORBITAL CAVITIES
- (orbits) in the skull house the eyes and
present them in an anterior position.
8. MIDDLE EAR CAVITIES
- the middle ear cavities in the skull lie just
medial to the eardrums. These cavities
 contain tiny bones that transmit sound
vibrations to the hearing receptors in the
inner ears
9. SYNOVIAL CAVITIES
- are joint cavities
- they are enclosed within fibrous capsules
that surround freely movable joints of the
body
- like the serous membranes, membranes
lining synovial cavities secrete a lubricating
fluid that reduces friction as the bones move
across one another.
SEROUS MEMBRANES
- line the trunk cavities and cover the
organs of these cavities
- to understand the relationship between
serous membranes and an organ, imagine
pushing your fist into an inflated balloon.
The inner balloon wall in contact with your
fist (organ) represents the visceral serous
membrane, and the outer part of the
balloon wall represents the parietal serous
membrane
- the part of the membrane lining the cavity
walls is called the parietal serosa . It folds in
on itself to form the visceral serosa,
covering the organs in the cavity.
- The cavity, or space, between the visceral
and parietal serous membranes is normally
filled with a thin, lubricating film of serous
fluid produced by the membranes
- As an organ rubs against another organ or
against the body wall, the serous fluid and
smooth serous membranes reduce friction.
- Thoracic cavity contains three serous
membrane-lined cavities:
1. PERICARDIAL CAVITY
- surrounds the heart . The visceral
pericardium covers the heart, which is
contained within a connective tissue sac
lined with the parietal pericardium. The
pericardial cavity, which contains
pericardial fluid, is located between the
visceral pericardium and the parietal
pericardium
2. TWO PLEURAL CAVITIES
- surrounds each lung, which is
covered by visceral pleura. Parietal
pleura lines the inner surface of the
thoracic wall, the lateral surfaces of
the mediastinum, and the superior
surface of the diaphragm. The
pleural cavity is located between
the visceral pleura and the parietal
pleura and contains pleural fluid.
- Abdominopelvic cavity contains a
serous membrane-lined cavity called the
peritoneal cavity. Visceral peritoneum
covers many of the organs of the
abdominopelvic cavity. Parietal
peritoneum lines the wall of the
abdominopelvic cavity and the inferior
surface of the diaphragm.
- Peritoneal cavity is located between the
visceral peritoneum and the parietal
peritoneum and contains peritoneal fluid.
- Serous membranes can become
inflamed—usually as a result of an infection.
- Pericarditis is inflammation of the
pericardium
- Pleurisy is inflammation of the pleura
- Peritonitis is inflammation of the and abdomen,
peritoneum. supported by the ribs,
sternum and costal
cartilages; chest
POSTERIOR BODY LANDMARKS Umbilical Navel
Abdominal Anterior body trunk POSTERIOR BODY LANDMARKS
inferior to ribs Calcaneal Heel or foot
Acromial Point of shoulder Cephalic Head
Antebrachial Forearm Femoral Thigh
Antecubital Anterior surface of Gluteal Buttock
elbow Lumbar Area of back between
Axillary Armpit ribs and hips, loin
Brachial Arm Occipital Posterior surface of
Buccal Cheek area head or base of skull
Carpal Wrist Olacranal Posterior surface of
Cervical Neck region elbow
Coxal Hip Popliteal Posterior knee area
Crucal Anterior leg; shin Sacral Area between hips at
Deltoid Curve of shoulder base of spine
formed by large deltoid Scapular Shoulder blade region
muscle Sural Posterior surface of
Digital Fingers, toes leg; calf
Femoral Thigh (applies to both Vertebral Area of spinal column
anterior and posterior)
Fibular Lateral part of leg REFERENCE:
Frontal Forehead
Inguinal Area where thigh Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology 5th Edition.
meets body trunk; Scanlon, V.C. & Sanders, T., 2007. F.A. Davis
groin Company, Philadelphia. (PDF)
Mental Chin
Nasal Nose area Essentials of Human Anatomy & Physiology 12th
Oral Mouth Edition. Marieb, E.N & Keller, 2016. S.M. Boston :
Orbital Eye area Pearson. (PDF)
Patellar Anterior knee
Pectoral Relating to, or Seeley’s Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology,
occurring in or on, the Ninth Edition. VanPutte, C., Regan, J., Russo, A.,
chest 2016. McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New
Pelvic Area overlying the York, NY. (PDF)
pelvis anteriorly
Pubic Genital region
Sternal Breastbone area
Tarsal Ankle region
Thoracic Are between the neck