BASIC ANATOMICAL TERMINOLOGY

By Oba mike

Healthcare professional use a common language of special terms when referring

to special structures and their functions. The essence of this language is to give
precision to descriptions. For example, the sentence, 'the ulna is the medial
forearm bone' gives you a quick view regarding the position of the ulna in the
forearm. You will understand this properly if you know the meaning of 'medial'.

For easy description, the anatomical terms can be divided into:

 Terms of position

 Regional terms

 Directional terms

 Terms of movement

 Planes and sections

Anatomical position
All descriptions in anatomy are in respect to a standard position of reference
called the 'anatomical position'.

In the anatomical position, the subject:

 Stands erect.

 Faces the observer.

 Has the head and eyes looking directly forward.

 Feet are flat on the floor and directed forward.

 Upper limbs are at the sides with the palms turned forward.

Two terms describe a reclining body. If the body is lying face down, it is in the
prone position. If the body is lying face up, it is in the supine position.

Regional terms
The human body is divided into 5 major regions that can be identified externally.

 Head

 Neck

 Trunk

 Upper limbs

 Lower limbs

Head

The head consists of the skull and face. The skull encloses and protects the brain.
The face is the front portion of the head and includes the eye, nose, mouth,
forehead, cheeks and chin.
Neck

It supports the head and attaches it to the trunk.

Trunk.

It consists of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis. The trunk is simply the body without
the head, neck and limbs.

Upper limbs

The upper limb attaches to the trunk and consists of the shoulder, armpit, arm,
elbow, forearm, wrist and hand.

Lower limbs

The lower limbs also attaches to the trunk and consists of the buttock, thigh, knee,
leg, ankle and foot.

Note: The groin is the curved area on the front where the trunk attaches to the
thighs. It is in front of the buttock.
Directional terms
The directional terms describe the position of one body part relative to another.
The terms are grouped in pairs that have opposite meaning. For example, superior

and inferior.

Directional Meaning Examples of usage

term
Superior Toward the head or upper The heart is superior to the
(cephalic or part of a structure liver
cranial)
Inferior (caudal) Away from the head, or lower The stomach is inferior to the
part of a structure. lungs
Anterior Nearer to or at the front of The sternum is anterior to the
(ventral) the body. heart.
Posterior Nearer to or at the back of the The esophagus is posterior to
(dorsal) body. the trachea
Medial Nearer to the midline of the The ulna is medial to the radius
body
Lateral Farther from the midline of The lungs are lateral to the
the body. heart.
Ipsilateral On the same side of the body The gallbladder and ascending
with another structure. colon are ipsilateral.
Contralateral On the opposite sides of the The ascending and descending
body from another structure. colon are contralateral
Proximal Nearer to the origin of a The humerus is proximal to the
structure. radius.
Distal Farther from the origin of a The phalanges are distal to the
structure. carpals
Superficial Towards or on the surface of The ribs are superficial to the
(external) the body. lungs.
Deep (internal) Away from the surface of the The ribs are deep to the skin of
 body. the chest and back.

Planes
Planes are imaginary flat surfaces that pass through the body dividing it into
portions. They include:

 Sagittal plane
  Frontal (coronal) plane

 Transverse plane

 Oblique plane

Sagittal plane

A sagittal plane is a vertical plane that divides the body or an organ into left and
right sides. It includes:

 Midsagittal plane

 Parasagittal plane

The midsagittal plane passes through the midline of the body or organ and
divides it into equal left and right sides.

A parasagittal plane on the other hand divides it into unequal left and right sides.

Frontal plane

Also called coronary plane. It divides the body or organ into anterior (front) and
posterior (back) portions.

Transverse plane

Also called horizontal or cross-sectional plane. It divides the body or organ into
superior (upper) and inferior (lower) portions.
Note: Sagittal, frontal and transverse planes are all at right angles to one another.

Oblique plane

An oblique plane passes through the body or organ at an oblique angle (any angle
other than 90%).

When you study a body region, you often view it in sections. A section is a cut of
the body or organ along one of the planes just described.
Terms of movement
Movement usually occur at joints (where two bones or cartilages meet). There are
also several non-articulated structures that exhibit movement (e.g. tongue, lips
and eyelids).
Common forms of movements include:

Flexion

Bending or decrease in the angle between bones or parts of the body. Examples
of flexion include:

 Moving the forearm towards the arm at elbow joint.

 Moving the hand towards the forearm at wrist joint.

 Bending the digits of the hands or feet at interphalangeal joints.

 Bending the head towards the chest at the atlanto-occipital joint.

Extension

Increase in the angle between bones. It is the opposite of flexion and involves the
return of the body to its anatomical position.

Abduction

Movement of a bone away from the midline

Adduction

Movement of a bone towards the midline.

Circumduction
Circular movement of a body part along its attachment. It is a combination of flexion,
extension, abduction, adduction and rotation.

Supination
Movement of forearm that turns palm anteriorly
Pronation
Movement of forearm that turns palm posteriorly.