Chapter 3: Looking at the Entire Body

right and left

the animal’s right and left side

median plane

an imaginary plane that runs down the center of the body lengthwise and divides it into equal left and right halves

median

toward the median plane

lateral

away from the median plane

rostral

toward the tip of the nose when referring to the head

cranial

toward the head end of the body or in a direction toward the head AND

on the front of the forelegs above the carpus (joint corresponding to the human wrist) and on the front of the back legs above the tarsus (joint corresponding to human knee)

caudal

toward the tail end of the body or in a direction toward the tail AND

on the back of the forelegs above the carpus (joint corresponding to the human wrist) and on the back of the rear legs above the tarsus (joint corresponding to human knee)

transverse plane

divides the body into cranial (front) and caudal (rear) parts

proximal

a position on a limb that is closer to the point of attachment to the body

distal

a position on a limb that is farther away from the point of attachment to the body

dorsal

toward the animals back AND

on the top/front surface of the forelimb distal to the carpus (joint corresponding to the human wrist) and on the top/front surface of the rear legs distal to the tarsus (joint corresponding to human knee)

ventral

toward the animal’s belly

dorsal plane

runs lengthwise down the body and divides it into dorsal and ventral portions

palmar

the back of the forefeet distal to the carpus (joint corresponding to human wrist)

plantar

the back of the rear feet distal to the tarsus (joint corresponding to human ankle)

superficial or external

toward the surface of the body or body part

deep or internal

toward the center of the body or body part

recumbency

lying down

crani/o

head, skull

rostr/o

nose

caud/o

tail

poster/o

rear, behind, after

dors/o

back or top

anter/o

front or before

ventr/o

belly

later/o

side

medi/o

mes/o

mesi/o

middle

palm/o

palmar/o

back of forefeet of animals below the carpus

plant/o

plantar/o

back of rear feet of animals below the tarsus

dist/o

remote, farther away from any point of reference

proxim/o

nearest

trans

across, through

endo-

end-

within, inner

ecto-

ect-

outside, externale

exo-

ex-

out, outside, outer, away from

in-

in, within, inward, into

not

dextr/o

right or toward the right

sinistr/o

left

dorsal recumbency

lying on the back

sternal (ventral) recumbency

lying on the belly or sternum (breast bone)

right lateral recumbency

lying on the right side of the body

left lateral recumbency

lying on the left side of the body

oblique recumbency

lying in a tilted position between dorsal or sternal recumbency and lateral recumbency

withers

area dorsal (above) to the shoulder blade (scapula)

barrel

trunk of the body formed by the ribcage and the abdomen

flank

lateral (side) surface of the abdomen between the last rib and the rear legs

brisket

area at the base of the neck between the front legs that covers the cranial end of the breastbone (sternum)

poll

top of the head between the bases of the ears

muzzle

rostral part of the face formed mainly by the upper jaw and nose bones

tailhead

dorsal part of the base of the tail

brachium

area on the front leg in animals between the shoulder joint and the elbow joint

knee

the carpus

area of the joint on the front leg in animals the corresponds to the human wrist

stifle

area of the joint on the rear leg that corresponds to the human knee

shin

area on the dorsal surface of the tibia between the stifle joint and the hock

hock

the tarsus

area of the joint on the rear leg that corresponds to the human ankle (between the shin and foot bones)

term used most often in large domestic animals, especially horses

cannon

the area over the large bones in the lower legs of hoofed animals that corresponds to the bones of the human hand or foot

located between the knee and the fetlock on the front legs, and between the hock and the fetlock on the rear legs

fetlock

area of a joint on the lower part of the leg marked by a projection above and behind the hoof

term used most often in hoofed animals although sometimes used in companion animals

pastern

area where the leg angles forward

located between the fetlock and the hoof

term used most often in hoofed animals although sometimes used in companion animals

axillary region

armpit

a space medial to the proximal portion of the front leg and lateral to the cranial portion of the thorax

inguinal region

groin

the fold or hollow where the thigh joins the abdomen

spin/o

spine

abdomin/o

abdomen

thorac/o

thorax

cellul/o

cyt/o

-cyte

cell

chondr/o

cartilage

dermat/o

derm/o

skin

hemat/o

hem/o

blood

histi/o

hist/o

tissue

kary/o

nucleus

lip/o

adip/o

fat

my/o

muscle

neur/o

nerve

organ/o

organ

oste/o

bone

system/o

system

tendon/o

tendin/o

ten/o

tenot/o

tendon

viscer/o

viscera (internal organs)

dia-

through, between, apart, across, complete

epi-

on or upon

extra-

outside

hyper-

above, over, or excess

hypo-

under, beneath, below

infra-

below, beneath

inter-

between, among

intra-

within

meta-

beyond, after, next

peri-

around, surrounding

sub-

below, decrease, under

super-

above, over, exceeding the norm, implying excess

supra-

above, over, on top of

ultra-

beyond, excess, on the other side of