A&P Anatomical Positions

Lecture 1

Anatomical Position Front

Standing straight, legs paralell, palms and feet facing forwards

Anatomical Position Back

Feet raised (Soles showing)

Supine

Lying facing up

Prone

Lying face down

Unilateral

Pertaining to one side of the body

Bilateral

Pertaining to both sides of the body

Frontal (Coronal) plane

Line that goes side way through middle of body

Separates anterior and posterior body

Sagittal (Longitudinal) plane

Line goes vertically through middle of the body

Separates left/right side of the body

Transverse plane

Axial plane

Horizontal line that separates the superior and inferior halves of the body

Angular plane

Meridional plane

A certain degree angular plane that differs from the sagittal plane

MRI

The left-right flipping convention, applies to both
coronal (frontal) and transverse (axial) MRI images. ????

MRI scans of eye

copy and paste images

Dorsal cavity

Back portion of the body

Vertebral and cranial cavity

Ventral body

Houses visceral organs

Thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic cavities

Abdominal Quadrants

RUQ, LUQ, RLQ, LLQ

Abdominal regions

Divide abdomen into 9 regions

PROF says to just remember 9 regions and 4 quadrants… not the names

Superior

Cranial

Structure that is above, or towards the head

Inferior

Caudal

Structure that is below, or away from the head

Anterior

Ventral

Towards the front of the body

Posterior

Dorsal

Towards the back of the body

Medial

Referring to the midline of the body (Mid-sagittal plane)

Towards the middle of the body

Lateral

Away from the midline

Intermediate

Refers to something that is more medial than one structure, but more lateral than another structure

“Collarbone is intermediate between the breastbone and the shoulder”

Proximal

Structure that is closer to the origin of the body part/appendage

“Elbow is proximal to the wrist'“

Distal

Farther from origin of body part of appendage

“The feet are distal to the knees”

Superficial

External

Towards or at the body’s surface

Deep

Internal

Away from the body’s surface

Rotation

Turning on a single axis

Head swivel

External rotation

Rotation of hip/shoulder away from the midline

Away from the body

Internal rotation

Rotation of shoulder/hip towards the midline

Circumduction

Circular motion at the hip/shoulder

Flexion

Bending a joint to decrease angle between bones

Extension

Straightening a joint or increasing angle between bones

Hyperextension

Excessive extension beyond body’s normal anatomical position

Adduction

Moving a body part towards the midline of the body

Adding your fingers together

Abduction

Moving body away from the midline

If youre abducted youre away from where you were

Pronation

Turning the arm or foot downward

Palm/Sole facing down

Supination

Turn the arm or foot upward

Palm/foot facing up

Palms up to hold a bowl of soup

Radial deviation

Movement of wrists towards the lateral side

Doing that too much radiates pain

Ulnar deviation

Moving wrist towards the medial side

Opposition

Movement of thumb across the palm of the hand

Inversion

Turning the sole of the foot inward

Eversion

Turning sole of foot outward

Dorsiflexion

Movement of the foot upward at the ankle joint

Plantarflexion

Movement of the foot downward at the ankle joint

Planting your toes on the ground

Retraction

Moving part of our face backward

Protraction

Moving a part forwards

Depression

Lowering a part

Elevation

Moving a part upwards

Dextro elevation

Elevation

Laevo elevation

Dextro version

Primary position

Laevo version

Dextro depression

Depression

Laevo depression

Elevation in abduction

Elevation

Elevation in adduction

Abduction

Primary position

Adduction

Depression in abduction

Depression

Depression in adduction