Anatomical Reference

Position
Instructor:
Jennifer Lomibao, LPT
 When the body is lying face down in the
anatomical position, this is called the prone
position.
 Anatomical position refers to the
positioning of the body when it is
standing upright and facing
forward with each arm hanging on
either side of the body, and the
palms facing forward. The legs are
parallel, with feet flat on the floor
and facing forward.
When the body is lying face up, this is called the
supine position.
 An anatomical plane is an imaginary plane used to
transect the body, in order to describe the location
of structures or the direction of movements.
Sagittal Plane- divides the body into right and left
parts.
Coronal Plane- a vertical plane running from side
to side, it divides the body into anterior and
posterior portions.
Transverse Plane- a horizontal plane through the
center of the body that divides the body into
superior and inferior portions.
 Anterior- at or near the front of the body(front
view).
 Posterior- at or near the back of the body(back
view).
 Midline- imaginary line that divides the body
equally.
 Lateral- farther from the midline.
 Medial- nearer to the midline.
 Superior- towards the head or upper part of the
body.
 Inferior- away from the head or the lower part of
the body.
 Superficial- close to the surface of the body.
 Deep- away from the surface of the body.
 Proximal- nearer to the origin of the body.
 Distal- farther from the origin of the body.
 Flexion and Extension- are movements that occur
in the sagittal plane.
▪ Flexion refers to a movement that decrease the
angle between two body parts.
▪ Extension refers to a movement that increase the
angle between two body parts.
 Abduction and Adduction- are two terms used to
describe movements toward or away from the
midline.
▪ Abduction is a movement away from the midline.
▪ Adduction is a movement towards the midline.
 Medial and Lateral Rotation- describe movement
of the limbs around their long axis.
▪ Medial rotation sometimes refers as internal rotation
is a movement towards the midline.
▪ Lateral rotation is a rotating movement away from
the midline.
 Pronation and Supination- are terms used to
describe the up and down orientation of your
hand, arm, or foot.
 When your palm or forearm faces down, its
pronated.
 When your palm or forearm faces up, its supinated.
 Dorsiflexion and Plantarflexion- used to describe
the movements at the ankle.
▪ Dorsiflexion refers to the flexion at the ankle, so that
foot points more superiorly.
▪ Plantarflexion refers extension at the ankle, so that
the foot points inferioly.
 Inversion and Eversion- are movements which
occur at the ankle joints, referring to the rotation of
the foot around its axis.
▪ Inversion involves the movement of the sole
towards the median plane, so that the sole faces in
a medial directions.
▪ Eversion involves the movement of the sole away
from the median plane.
 Opposition and Reposition- is limited to humans
and some great apes, these terms apply to the
additional movements that the hand and thumb
can perform.
▪ Opposition brings the thumb and little finger
together.
▪ Reposition is a movement that moves the thumb
and the little finger away from each other.
 Protraction involves the moving of the scapulae
forward and towards the side of the body.
 Retraction involves the moving of the scapulae
back and towards the body’s midline.
 Elevation refers to the movement in a superior
direction.(e.g. shoulder shrug)
 Depression refers to movement in an inferior
direction.
 Circumduction can be defined as a conical
movement of a limb extending from the joint at
which the movement is controlled.