Introduction to Anatomic

Systems and Terminology

Beka Aroshidze
2017
Anatomical Position (anterior view)
 All locational and
directional terms
used in anatomy
refer to the human
body in the
anatomic
position, in which
the body is
upright, arms at
the side, with the
eyes, palms of the
hands, and feet
directed forward
General Orientation to Human
Anatomy
General Terms of Location and
Direction: Limbs
Anatomical Planes of Reference
 Views of the Body in the Three Primary
Anatomical Planes

 (a) Sagittal section

of the pelvic
region.
(b) Frontal section
of the thoracic
region.
 (c) Transverse
section
of the head at the
level of the eyes.
 Summary for the Anatomical Planes
 The sagittal plane passes through the body
from front to back, dividing it into right and
left sides.
 The coronal plane passes through the body
from side to side, dividing it into front
(anterior) and back (posterior) parts.
 • The transverse (axial, horizontal, cross-
sectional) plane divides the body into upper
and lower parts.
Guess the Plane…
Guess the Plane…
Guess the Plane…
Landmarks and Reference Lines
 Palpable or visible structures are used to
identify the location of underlying
structures.
 Reference lines are vertical or
transverse planes that connect palpable
structures or markings
 The Integumentary System
(SKIN)
 Largest organ of the body
 Protects from biologic, mechanical, and
chemical injury
 Regulates body temperature
 Participates in metabolic processes
(vitamin D synthesis)

 Skin = epidermis (no blood vessels) +

dermis (blood vessels)
 Fascia
 CT between the skin and underlying
muscles and bone
 Superficial fascia = loose CT and fat
 Deep fascia = dense CT, NO FAT; envelops
neurovascular structures and muscles.
◦ Invaginations of the deep fascia of the limbs
form intermuscular septa that separate
limb musculature into functional groups
(compartments).
Guess the Plane…
 Skeletal system
 The axial skeleton, which consists of the skull, vertebrae,
sactum, coccyx, ribs, and sternum
 The appendicular skeleton, which includes the clavicle
and scapula of the pectoral girdle, the coxal bones of the
pelvic girdle, and the bones of the upper and lower limbs
 And again, Anatomical
Position (anterior
view)
 Skeletal System Embriology
 Bones develop from mesenchyme (embryonic CT)
through two processes of ossification (bone formation).
 The clavicle and some bones of the skull develop by
membranous ossification, in which the bones form
through direct ossification of mesenchymal templates that are
set down during the embryonic period.
 Most bones, including the long bones of the limbs, develop by
endochondral ossification, in which a cartilaginous
template, formed from mesenchyme, is laid down during the
fetal period. Over the first and second decades of life, bone
replaces most of the cartilage.
◦ Within each bone undergoing endochondral ossification, bone
formation occurs first at a primary ossification center, which is
in the diaphysis (shaft) of the long bones. Secondary
ossification centers appear later at the epiphyses (growing
ends) of the bones.
Structure of a Typical Long Bone
 APOPHYSIS = bony
outgrowths, serve as
attachment sites for
ligaments or tendons.
Specific apophyses are
referred to as
◦ Condyles
◦ Tubercles
◦ Spines
◦ Crests
◦ Trochanters
◦ Processes
 Ligaments vs. Tendons
 Ligaments are connective tissue bands that
connect bones to each other or to cartilage.
 Joints
 Syndesmoses (fibrous joints)
◦ sutures of the skull and interosseous membrane of the
forearm; are united by fibrous tissue; minimal
movement
 Synchondroses (cartilaginous joints)
◦ are united either by fibrocartilaginous segments
such as the costal cartilages of the ribs, intervertebral
disks, and pubic symphysis or by articular cartilage,
often found in temporary joints, such as those that
join the ilium, ischium, and pubis of the hip bone.
Subsequent fusion of these temporary joints creates
SYNOSTOSES(sites of bony fusion).
 Synovial joints - MC type of joint, allow
free movement.
Guess the Joint Type
Hip bones: Synchondrosis becomes
Synostosis
 A Typical Synovial Joint:
 Joint cavity that is enclosed by a fibrous joint
capsule and lined by a synovial membrane,
which secretes a thin film of lubricating
synovial fluid;
 Articulating ends of the bones that are
covered by articular (hyaline) cartilage;
 Extrinsic ligaments on the outer surface,
which reinforce the joints.
◦ Some synovial joints also contain intrinsic (intra-
articular) ligaments and intervening
fibrocartilaginous disks (such as the menisci of the
knee joint)
 Bursae are closed sacs that contain a thin film of fluid and
are lined with a synovial membrane.
 Commonly found around joints of the limbs, bursae cushion
prominent bony processes from external pressure and
prevent friction where tendons cross bony surfaces.
 Muscular System
 Muscles and their tendons
◦ Tendons produce movement through contraction
of muscle cells.
 Muscle tissue is classified by:
 Location (somatic or visceral)
 Appearance (striated or nonstriated)
 Innervation (voluntary or involuntary).
 Tendons = dense fibrous bands, connect
muscles to their bony attachments.
 Aponeuroses are tendons that form flat
sheets and attach muscles to the skeleton
or to other muscles.
 The Circulatory System
 Heart and blood vessels
◦ Blood vessels = Arteries, Arterioles, Capillaries,
Venules,Veins.
 Veins have valves.
 The veins are divided into superficial
veins that travel in the superficial fascia and
deep veins that accompany the arteries.
Perforator veins connect the superficial
and deep venous circulations.
 Sinusoids, which are wide, thin-walled
vessels that replace capillaries in liver
Structure of blood vessels
Blood vessels in different regions of the systemic circulation,
shown in cross section.
 1. The pulmonary circulation
 2. The systemic circulation
 A portal circulation is a route within the systemic circulation
that diverts blood to a second capillary network before
returning it to the systemic veins. The largest of these, the
portal system in the liver, diverts blood from the GIT to
the capillaries (sinusoids) in the liver before returning it to the
systemic veins. A similar portal system is found in the
pituitary gland.
 An anastomosis, a communication between arteries,
allows blood to bypass its normal route and flow
through an alternate, or collateral, route. Although blood
volume through the anastomosis is usually minimal, it increases
when the lumen of vessels along the normal route is
obstructed.
 End arteries are vessels that lack anastomoses. Gradual
narrowing of end arteries stimulates the formation of new
vessels, but an abrupt obstruction of an end artery can cause
necrosis (death) of the target tissue.
 Circulation

 Schematic showing
the pulmonary and
systemic circulations.
 The portal circulation
through the liver is
part of the systemic
circulation.
 Arteries are shown in
red, veins in blue, and
lymphatic vessels in
green.
 The Lymphatic System
 Functions:
◦ Drains excess ECF from body tissues and returns it to
veins of the systemic circulation
◦ Mounts an immune response in the body
◦ Transports fat and large protein molecules that cannot
be taken up by venous capillaries
 blind-ended lymphatic capillaries → lymphatic
vessels (are interposed with lymph nodes along
their length) → lymphatic trunks
 2 major lymphatic trunks:
◦ thoracic duct (left lymphatic trunk) - arises from the
cisterna chyli (chyle cistern)
◦ right lymphatic trunk
Lymphatic pathways
 Anterior view. The right lymphatic duct (~1
cm long) collects lymph from the right upper
quadrant of the body and empties into the
right venous angle at the junction of the right
internal jugular vein with the right subclavian
vein. Its major tributaries are
◦ – the right jugular trunk (right half of the head
and neck),
◦ – the right subclavian trunk (right upper limb,
right side of the chest and back wall), and
◦ – the right bronchomediastinal trunk (organs of
the right thoracic cavity).
 The thoracic duct is approximately 40 cm
long and transports lymph from the entire
lower half of the body and left upper
quadrant. It empties into the left venous angle
between the left internal jugular vein and left
subclavian vein. Its main tributaries are
◦ – the left jugular trunk (left half of the head and
neck),
◦ – the left subclavian trunk (left upper limb, left
side of the chest and back wall),
◦ – the intestinal trunks (abdominal organs), and
◦ – the right and left lumbar trunks (right and left
lower limb; pelvic viscera; right and left pelvic,
abdominal, and back wall).
◦ The intercostal lymphatic vessels transport
lymph from the left and right intercostal spaces
to the lymphatic duct.
Lymph drainage (FA 2017, p. 93)
 Lymph carried by the thoracic
duct and right lymphatic duct
returns to the systemic
venous circulation at the left
and right venous angles
(junction of the internal
jugular and subclavian veins),
also known as the
jugulosubclavian junction, in
the neck
 The Nervous
System
 two major anatomic
divisions:
◦ CNS
◦ PNS (12 pairs of CNs, 31
pairs of spinal nerves, and
autonomic (visceral) nerves)
 two functional divisions:
◦ Somatic
◦ Autonomic
 two classes of cells within
the nervous system:
◦ Neurons
◦ Glial cells
 Gray matter
and white
matter of CNS
Information flow in the nervous
system
 Referred pain
 Referred pain is a sensation that originates from
viscera but is perceived as if coming from an
overlying or nearby somatic structure. It occurs
because the somatic and visceral sensory fibers
converge onto the same spinal cord segment.
Diaphragmatic irritation from a splenic abscess,
for example, is typically referred to the shoulder
because both the diaphragm and the skin over
the shoulder convey sensory information to
C3–C5 segments of the spinal cord.
 Referred Pain
 Many times pain that is in one part of the body can
be referred to another. It is key to remember these
associations as they are a favorite on the USMLE.
ANS!
ANS circuitry