Anatomical terminology

Dr. E J Mazyala
Anatomy-Cuhas
• The study of Anatomy introduces to you about ten
thousands of medical terminologies which makes
up a large part of medical terminology.

• To be understood, you must express yourself

clearly, using the proper terms in the correct way.

• We’ll discuss just few of the common used

terminologies
Terms Referring to Position,
Regions, Relations and
Movement:
 Anatomical position

v Anatomical position is a
specific body position in
which an individual stands
upright with the feet
parallel and flat on the
floor.
v The head is level, and the
eyes look forward toward
the observer.
v The arms are at either side
of the body with the palms
facing forward and the
thumbs pointing away from
the body.
Terms Referring to Position, Regions, Relations and Movement:

A. Position

- Anatomical terms that refer to

position and relations are defined
with respect to Anatomical
Position. This position is shown
here.

- The bodyis said to be supine

when lying on its back and
prone when lying face down.
 B. Relations Superior

- By defining directions
relative to anatomical
position, we can describe the Posterior Anterior
relation of structures using the
following terms:
-Superior - refers to a structure that is nearer the vertex

-Inferior - refers to a structure that is situated nearer the sole

of the foot

-Anterior- denotes the front surface of the body

-Posterior- denotes the back surface of the body or
nearer to the back

Inferior
 Medial
B. Relations Lateral

- With respect to the midline

of a person in anatomical
position, we define:
- Medial as closer to the midline.
- Lateral as further from the
midline.
B. Relations

- Along a limb:

- Proximal is closer to the origin. Proximal

- Distal is further from the origin.

Distal

Proximal

Distal
B. Relations

- Along a limb:

- Proximal is closer to the origin. Proximal

- Distal is further from the origin.

- The “anterior surface” of the

hand is referred to as the
Distal
palmar surface.

- The inferior surface of the Proximal

foot is the plantar surface.

The posterior surface of the

hand and superior surface of
the foot are referred to as Distal
dorsal.
B. Relations
- The terms deep and superficial are used to describe the layering of
tissues in the body.

Superficial

Deep
 B. Relations
The following terms are defined with respect to the orientation of
structures in the embryo.

Cranial
Dorsal

Ventral Dorsal

Ventral

Caudal
 Anatomical body plane
vA plane is an imaginary lines that slices
the body into specific sections.
vThe three major anatomic planes of
reference are the coronal, transverse,
and sagittal planes.
• A coronal plane, also called a frontal plane, is a vertical plane
that divides the body into anterior (front) and posterior (back)
parts.
• A transverse plane, also called a cross-sectional plane or
horizontal plane,
ü cuts perpendicularly along the long axis of the body or organ
separating it into both superior (upper) and inferior (lower)
parts.
• A sagittal plane or median plane, extends through the body or
organ vertically and divides the structure into right and left
halves.
ü A sagittal plane in the body midline is a midsagittal plane.
ü A plane that is parallel to the midsagittal plane, but either to the
left or the right of it, is termed a parasagittal (or sagittal) plane.
• A minor plane, called the oblique plane, passes through the
specimen at an angle.
C. Planes
- The position of structures is often
described relative to anatomical
planes. These are:
I. The Median Plane
II. The Coronal/frontal
Plane
III. The Transverse/cross-sectional Plane

Sagittal planes
-Vertical planes parallel to
median plane
 Body Regions
• The human body is partitioned into two
main regions, called the axial and
appendicular regions.
• The axial region includes the head, neck,
and trunk which comprise the main vertical
axis of our body
• our limbs, or appendages, attach to the
body’s axis and make up the appendicular
region
D. Major
Regions of Head
the Body

Thorax
Arm
Abdomen Trunk
Upper
Limb Forearm Pelvis

Hand Thigh

Lower
Limb
Leg

Foot
Muybridge, 1887
E. Movement

i. Flexion and Extension

- Flexion refers to
movements that decrease 1 2
the angle of a joint.

Muybridge, 1887
E. Movement

i. Flexion and Extension

- Extension refers to
movements that increase 1 2
the angle of a joint.

Muybridge, 1887
E. Movement
ii. Abduction and Adduction
- Abduction refers to movement away from the midline
while Adduction refers to movements towars the midline.

Abduction

Muybridge, 1887
E. Movement
ii. Abduction and Adduction
- Abduction refers to movement away from the midline
while Adduction refers to movements towars the midline.

Adduction

Muybridge, 1887
E. Movement
iii. Pronation and Supination
A. In supination the thumb rotates away from the body.
B. In pronation the thumb rotates towards the body.

A. B. Snell, 1995
E. Movement
iv. Inversion and Eversion
A. In eversion the sole of the foot is rotated away from the midline
(turning the sole laterally).
B. In inversion the sole of the foot is rotated towards the midline
(facing the sole medially).

Moore,1985
A. B.
E. Movement
iv. Dorsiflexion and Plantarflexion refer to movements of the ankle joint:
A. In dorsiflexion the toes are moved upwards.
B. In plantarflexion the toes are moved downwards.

A. B. Moore,1985
E. Movement
v. Circumduction
The combination of flexion, extension, adduction and abduction to
create a circular movement is circumduction.
E. Movement
vi. Rotation
Finally, rotation simply refers to rotation of a structure (such as the
upper or lower limbs) along its long axis.

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