NSCI5720 Directional Terminology 2023 PDF

Directional Terminology NSCI5720 Vertebrate Anatomy & Physiology Objectives Be able to communicate with your colleagues using correct medical directional terminology Why do we need specific terminology? When talking about patients, we need to be able to communicate and discuss body parts and areas o...

Directional Terminology NSCI5720 Vertebrate Anatomy & Physiology Objectives Be able to communicate with your colleagues using correct medical directional terminology Why do we need specific terminology? When talking about patients, we need to be able to communicate and discuss body parts and areas of our patients Some terms like above, below, top, bottom – meaning may change depending on the position of the animal. Anatomic terms do not change with position of the animal Language of anatomy = a lot of Latin and some Greek Terms are used to prevent miscommunication: Position Direction Body cavities Structures Communication Where a mass is found on an animal – may need to record this in a patient’s notes You might be asked to clip a patient ready for surgery, and the vet will give you directions using medical terminology eg. they will make their incision on the medial aspect of the left stifle You might be setting a patient up for a radiograph – need to know what area of the patient, and also the position to put the patient in When talking about directional terminology, you will commonly see this diagram…let’s break it down Directional terms Dorsal – toward the back (top surface) of the animal Ventral – toward the lower surface of the animal Cranial – toward the head (cranium) Rostral – toward to nose (rostrum). Used when talking about structures on the head Caudal – toward the tail (cauda) Humans Superior and inferior instead of cranial and caudal Anterior and posterior instead of dorsal and ventral. In vet med we also use these two terms in the eye & pituitary gland Anterior – toward the front (in the eye/pituitary gland) Posterior – toward the back (in the eye/pituitary gland) Questions Is the shoulder cranial or caudal to the hip? Cranial Are the eyes rostral or cranial or caudal to the ears? Rostral Is the tail cranial or caudal to the abdomen? Caudal Would you put a saddle on the dorsal or ventral surface of a horse? Dorsal Directional terminology Proximal – toward the body Distal – away from the body Proximal and distal are used to describe the location of extremities relative to the body Palmer – the ventral (bottom) surface of the front feet Plantar – the ventral (bottom) surface of the hind feet Questions Is the shoulder proximal or distal to the elbow? Proximal Are the hindlimb digits proximal or distal to the hip? Distal A dog has a wound on the bottom surface of it’s left forefoot – is this palmer or plantar? Palmer A dog has a prickle in the plantar surface of it’s right foot, is this the front or back foot? Back Distal limb directional terminology (Important for imaging) If discussing a limb that is proximal to the carpus/tarsus – use the terms cranial and caudal If discussing something on a limb that is distal to the carpus/tarsus – use the terms dorsal and palmer/plantar Important as you may be asked to position an animal for, or take a radiograph using these terms Terminology Medial – toward the midline of the animal Lateral – away from the midline of the animal Deep – toward the centre of the body Superficial – toward the surface of the body Questions The heart is deep or superficial to the ribs? Deep You have been asked to remove the sutures from a cat that had surgery for an abscess on the medial aspect of it’s forelimb. Is this on the inside or outside of the leg? Inside If a dog has a tumour growing on the lateral aspect of it’s right hind leg, is the tumour on the inner or outer surface? Outer Planes – imaginary slices through the body Sagittal plane – runs the length of the body, divides the body in left and right parts (not necessarily equal) Median plane – type of sagittal plane that runs lengthwise down the body dividing it into equal left and right halves (type of sagittal plane) Transverse plane – a plane across the body that divides it into cranial and caudal parts (not necessarily equal) Dorsal plane – plane that divides the body into dorsal and ventral halves (not necessarily equal) Planes…. Sagittal plane – left and right halves (not necessarily equal) Transverse plane – cranial and caudal halves (not necessarily equal) Dorsal plane – dorsal and ventral halves (not necessarily equal) CT images – planes of the dog Left – transverse plane Middle – sagittal plane Right – dorsal plane Common regional terms Carpus – “wrist” Hock/tarsus – “heel” Stifle – “knee” Diaphragm – muscle that divides the thorax and abdomen Thorax – body cavity that is cranial to diaphragm “chest” Houses heart and lungs Abdomen – body cavity that is caudal to diaphragm “belly” Houses gastrointestinal, urinary, repro tracts etc Diaphragm Thorax Abdomen Carpus Stifle Tarsus/hock Some other common terms Unilateral – affecting one side Bilateral – affecting both sides Terms can be combined… (not examined) This will come more naturally when you are more familiar with directional terminology. You will likely hear this in clinic Dorsolateral thorax Ventromedial abdomen Radiograph positions – you will learn more about this in NSCI6103 next year Craniocaudal Mediolateral Dorsoventral Ventrodorsal Test your knowledge! Directional Terminology Worksheet (“Course Notes” tab, “Tutorials” heading) Practice Test - Directional Terminology (“Lab Tests” tab on Moodle) Additional resources – quizzes and videos Make your own flashcards/quizlet Ngā pātai? Questions?