Medical Terminology: directional terms, positions and imaging

Anatomic position

standing erect, arms at side, palms of the hand facing forward, and feet side by side

anter/o, ventr/o

front, belly

poster/o, dors/o

back, behind

caud/o

tail (downward)

caud/o 

head (upward) 

super/o

above

infer/o

below

medi/o

middle

later/o

side

proxim/o 

near (the point of attachment of a body part) 

dist/o

away (from the point of attachment of a body part)

-ad

toward

Supine

laying on back, facing upward

Prone

lying on abdomen, facing downward

Fowler position 

semi-sitting position with slight elevation of the knees 

Trendelenburg

lying on back with body tilted so that the head is lower than the feet

Frontal or Coronal Plane

Vertical field passing through the body from side to side, dividing the body into anterior and posterior portions

Sagittal plane

vertical field running through the body from front to back, dividing the body into unequal right and left sides

Transverse plane 

Horizontal field dividing the body int superior and inferior portions 

umbilical

around the naval

epigastric

superior to the umbilical region

hypogastric

inferior to the umbilical region

hypochondriac

to the right and left of the epigastric region

lumbar

to the right and left of the umbilical region

iliac

to the right and left of the hypogastric region