Anatomical Position - Video Tutorials & Practice Problems

Anatomical Position

So we've all had the experience where somebody says, "Look to the left," and you're like, "Wait, your left or my left?" We don't want that kind of confusion happening in the anatomy lab, and we definitely don't want that kind of confusion happening in the medical field. If somebody tells you to make an incision on the left, you want to be really clear. Is it your left? Is it the person who's talking to you? Is it their left? Is it the body's left? To get around that kind of confusion, in anatomy and physiology, we have a whole set of vocab terms that refer to the body, and all of those terms refer to the body in anatomical position. Now anatomical position is pretty straightforward. It's just this universally accepted position used for accurate communication. And you can see it right here. This gentleman is standing in anatomical position. The basic idea behind it is that no matter what position the body is actually in when you're looking at it, referring to it, if it's laid out on a table, if it's standing up, if it's curled up in the fetal position, if it's a contortionist in the craziest handstand you've ever seen, when you talk about the body going forward and you talk about locations on the body going forward, you are going to assume that the body is in this position. So anatomical position, pretty straightforward. The body is upright, standing up. It's facing forward. Those feet are going to be about hip or shoulder distance apart. The toes will point forward. The arms are by the side. And then the one thing that's a little bit unnatural about this position is that the hands are rotated so the palms are forward. In anatomical position, you want to be able to see the palms. The thumbs will be facing outward just like this, and you'll be able to see the inside of the elbow there. Now going forward in this course, whenever you're trying to locate something on the body, you want to talk about it as if the body is in this position, and all the terms are going to refer to the body. So left and right are going to refer to the body's left and right. So if we're looking at this body, this body's left is on this side and the right is on that side. That can sometimes be a little confusing because you're looking at the body often, and so quite often, it's opposite to you. But having that common reference frame is going to really eliminate a ton of confusion going forward. So now you know. If somebody asks you to make an incision on the left, you make an incision on the left side of the body.

Anatomical Position Example 1

This example asks us which image represents correct anatomical position and if the body is not in anatomical position, to identify why it isn't. So, just a quick reminder, anatomical position is standing upright, feet shoulder width apart, looking forward, arms by the side. Then the only thing to really remember about it is those palms are rotated so you can see the palms, the inside of the elbow, and so the thumb is facing outward away from the body. So with that in mind, let's look and see what we see. Alright.

A, take a look and see if you see anything that means it's not in anatomical position. Alright. When I look at it right away, I see the head. The head is off to the side. That is not anatomical position, so I'm going to mark that right away. And I'm going to say A is definitely not in anatomical position. But let's just look at those other things that I always look for. I always look for the palms. Those palms are visible. Inside of the elbow is visible. That's good. And the feet. The feet are facing forward, shoulder width apart. So everything else about this looks good, but that head to the side means that it's definitely not in anatomical position.

B. Take a look at B and see if you see anything. Alright. B, I see that the head is facing forward, the palms are forward, the feet are forward, shoulder width apart. This looks like a very good example of anatomical position to me, so I'm going to give it the big old green checkaroo. I think that looks good.

C. Take a look at C and see if you see anything. Alright. When I look at C, the first thing that jumps out at me is those hands. That's what I always think about for anatomical position. That's the one thing I said that's a little bit unnatural sometimes about anatomical position: the palms are facing forward. These palms are facing next to the body in sort of a more natural position. So, I'm going to mark those as definitely not in anatomical position. The other things I look for: the head looks alright, and then I look down at the feet. Oh, and I notice something else here, right? Those feet aren't facing forward. They're sort of facing outwards in more of a ballet first position. So that's definitely not anatomical position. I'm going to mark that as well. And so C is not in anatomical position because of the hands and the feet.

So to review, A and C are not in anatomical position for the reasons we've marked. B looks like a very good example of anatomical position.

Why is anatomical position important?

• A. To minimize medical errors.
• B. To give a reference position for directional terms.
• C. For easy communication among medical workers.
• D. A-C are all true.

If looking at a body in anatomical position from the back, which part can you see clearly?

• A. The inside of the elbow
• B. The fingernails
• C. The palms
• D. The toes