Anatomy basics

standard anatomical position

standing, head, palms, and toes face anterior, feet parallel

sagittal plane

divides body into left and right

coronal plane

divides body into front and back

transverse plane

horizontal division of the body into upper and lower portions

cranial

towards head or superior

caudal

towards legs or inferior

supine position

lying on back, facing upward

prone position

lying face down

lithosomy position

lying on back with legs up (think gyne exams)

lateral position

side lying position

trendelenburg position

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

flexion

bending a joint

extension

lengthening a joint

adduction

movement toward the midline of the body

abduction

movement away from the midline of the body

rotation

circular movement of a limb around a joint

ventral

anterior or front

dorsal

posterior or back

axial skeleton

includes the skull, vertebral column, ribs, and sternum

appendicular skeleton

Includes limbs, pectoral and pelvic girdles

muscle

specialized contractile tissue group responsible for producing motion, maintaing posture, and circulating fluids throughout the body

skeletal muscle

attached to bones via tendons, voluntary, striated body movements

cardiac muscle

found in heart wall, contracts automatically to pump blood, involuntary striated and branched

smooth muscle

lines walls of hollow organs, involuntary non-striated

origin of muscle

fixed point- never moves during contraction

insertion of muscle

where muscle shortens- insertion is PULLED towards origin

axioappendicular muscles

connect to axial skeleton to appendicular skeleton

visceral

layer that is actually attached to organ

parietal

outer layer not directly attached to organ

pleura

allows for movement/sliding of organs preventing friction

hilum

depression or fissure through which blood vessels, nerves, and other structures enter or leave an organ