Anatomy & Physiology: Body Plan and Organization
Termini in questo insieme (20)
The anatomical position is standing with feet slightly apart, toes pointing forward, arms at the sides with palms facing forward. Right and left refer to the subject's own sides.
The three main planes are sagittal (divides body into right and left), frontal (divides body into front and back), and transverse (divides body into top and bottom).
The sagittal plane is a vertical plane dividing the body into right and left parts. The mid-sagittal plane lies exactly at the body's midline.
The frontal plane is a vertical plane dividing the body into anterior (ventral) and posterior (dorsal) parts.
The transverse plane is a horizontal plane dividing the body into superior and inferior parts. Also called a cross section.
Superior means toward the upper part of a structure or the body; above. Example: The head is superior to the abdomen.
Inferior means toward the lower part of a structure or the body; below. Example: The chest is inferior to the neck.
Anterior or ventral means toward the front of the body. Example: The sternum is anterior to the spine.
Posterior or dorsal means toward the back of the body. Example: The heart is posterior to the sternum.
Medial means toward the midline of the body. Example: The heart is medial to the arms.
Lateral means away from the midline of the body. Example: The arms are lateral to the chest.
Proximal means closer to the origin or attachment point of a body part. Distal means farther from the origin. Example: The elbow is proximal to the wrist; the ankle is distal to the knee.
Superficial means toward the body surface. Deep means away from the body surface. Example: The skin is superficial to bone; the lungs are deep to the ribs.
The two main body cavities are the dorsal cavity (includes cranial and vertebral cavities) and the ventral cavity (includes thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities).
The thoracic cavity contains the lungs and heart, separated from the abdominopelvic cavity by the diaphragm.
The four quadrants are right upper (RUQ), left upper (LUQ), right lower (RLQ), and left lower (LLQ).
The nine regions are: right and left hypochondriac, epigastric, right and left lumbar, umbilical, right and left iliac (inguinal), and hypogastric (pubic).
Dorsal cavity is toward the back and includes the cranial and vertebral cavities. Ventral cavity is toward the front and includes thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities.
Anatomical planes allow for standardized cross-sectional views of the body, aiding in imaging techniques like CT and MRI scans.
Right and left always refer to the sides of the person or cadaver being viewed, not the observer's perspective.