Anatomical Position and Directional Terms PDF

Module 3: Anatomical Terminology Module 3.1 Anatomical Position and Directional Terms 1. Anatomical Position: All movement and postures should be described relative to anatomical position (standard reference posture). - Body erect, feet slightly apart, palms facing forward,...

Module 3: Anatomical Terminology Module 3.1 Anatomical Position and Directional Terms 1. Anatomical Position: All movement and postures should be described relative to anatomical position (standard reference posture). - Body erect, feet slightly apart, palms facing forward, and thumbs point away from the body. 2. Superior (cranial): Towards the head. - Your superior is always above you, the head is superior to the neck (standing up from a crouch is moving in a superior direction). 3. Inferior (caudal): Towards the feet. - You might feel inferior to someone you feel is superior or above you. The neck is inferior to the head (crouching from standing is moving in an inferior direction). 4. Anterior (ventral): Towards the front of the body. - The lips are anterior to the teeth. Bending is moving the torso in an anterior direction. 5. Posterior (dorsal): Towards the back of the body. - The teeth are posterior to the lips. Standing up from bending is moving the torso in a posterior direction. 6. Medial: Toward the midline of the body. - The eyes are medial to the ears. Putting your feet together when they are apart is moving them medially. 7. Lateral: Away from the midline. - The ears are lateral to the eyes. If feet are together and you move them apart they are moving laterally. 8. Proximal: Closer to the body. - The shoulder is proximal to the elbow. 9. Distal: Farther from the body part. - The elbow is distal to the shoulder. 10. Superficial (external): Toward the body surface (skin is superficial to muscle). 11. Deep (internal): Away from the body surface (muscle is deep to the skin). Module 3.2 Regional Terms - Neck: Cervical. - Chest and upper back: Thoracic. - Abdominal. - Pelvic Region. - Upper limb: Arm and forearm. - Lower limb: Thigh and leg. - Fingers and toes: Digits. - Back: Dorsal region (dorsum = back of hand and top of foot). Module 3.3 Anatomical Planes - Anatomical Planes: Used to classify various joint movements. 2 dimensional surface. 1. Sagittal Plane (anteroposterior): Bisects the body from front to back. Divides the body into right and left halves. - Flexion: Bending movement that decreases the angle of the joint. The articulating bones (bones that are attached at the joint) are brought closer together. - Extension: Straightening movement that increases the angle of the joint back toward the anatomical position. The articulating bones are taken further apart. - Hyperextension: This involves taking the joint past the anatomical position in the direction of extension.  - Circumduction: Moving the limb around in a circle such that the limb describes a cone shape in space. It involves flexion, abduction, extension, and adduction performed one after the other. 2. Frontal Plane (coronal): Bisects the body laterally from side to side. Divides the body into front (ventral) and back (dorsal) halves. - Abduction: Movement of a limb away from the midline of the body. - Adduction: Movement of a limb toward the midline of the body. - Circumduction. 3. Transverse Plane (horizontal): Divides the body into superior (cephalic) and inferior (caudal) halves. Rotational movements occur in this plane such as pronation/supination, internal and external rotation, and spinal rotation. - Rotation is the turning of a bone around its own long axis. It may be directed towards or away from the midline. - Medial Rotation: Directed towards the midline (internal rotation). - Lateral Rotation: Directed away from the midline (external rotation). 4. Oblique Plane (diagonal): A combination of more than one plane of motion. Most of our movements in sporting activities occur in a diagonal pattern. All movements in diagonal planes occur in a high or one of two low diagonal planes. Module 3.4 Movement Terms - Angular joint movements: Results in an increase or decrease in the angle of the joint. - Special movements of the ankle joint: 1. Dorsiflexion: Lifting the foot so that your toes are drawn towards your shin. 2. Plantar flexion: Pointing the toes away. 3. Inversion: The sole of the foot turns medially (soles facing into each other). 4. Eversion: The sole of the foot turns laterally (soles facing away from each other). - Special movements of the forearm: 1. Supination and pronation: Refers to the movement of the two forearm bones. a) Supination: When the forearm is rotated so that the palm faces upward. b) Pronation: When the forearm is rotated so that the palm faces downward. - Special movements of the spine: 1. Lateral flexion/bending: Side bending of the head or trunk away from the midline. Designated as right or left lateral flexion or bending. - Special movements of the wrist and finger joints: 1. Lateral deviation: Movement at wrist so thumb-side of hand moves laterally. 2. Medial deviation: Movement at wrist so little finger side of hand moves medially. 3. Opposition: This refers to the action of your thumb touching the tips of the other fingers. 4. Flexion: Bending of the fingers, 5. Extension: Straightening of the fingers. Module 3.5 Body Cavities 1. Ventral Cavity: Includes the thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities and their subdivision. 2. Dorsal Cavity: Includes the cranial and spinal cavities. Module 3.6 Anatomical Variation - Humans vary slightly in both external and internal anatomy. 90% of all anatomical structures match textbook descriptions but nerves and blood vessels may be somewhat out of place and small muscles may be missing. Extreme anatomical variations are seldom seen.