Anatomy for Physiotherapy - Week 1

Anatomical position:

• Standing erect and facing forward

• Hands are facing palms in front, with pinkies medial to thumbs

Anatomical Planes:

• Sagittal – divides body into left and right

• Coronal – divides body into front (anterior) and back (posterior)

• Transverse – divides body into top and bottom

Anatomical positions

• Posterior (or dorsal) – towards the back of the body

• Anterior(or ventral) – towards front of the body

• Superior – toward top of body (above)

• Inferior – towards toes

• Medial – towards midline of the body

• Lateral – away from midline of the body

• Proximal – closer to trunk of the body

• Distal – further away from trunk of the body

• Caudal – towards tail

• Rostral – towards head

Anatomical movement + planes and axis they occur in

• Flexion – bending or decreasing the angle between bones or parts of the body (OCCURS IN SAGITTAL PLANE - around medial-lateral axis)

• Extension – straightening or increasing the angle between bones or parts of the body (OCCURS IN SAGITTAL PLANE – around medial-lateral axis)

 

• Abduction – movement towards midline of the body (OCCURS IN CORONAL PLANE – around A-P axis)

• Adduction - movement away from midline of the body (OCCURS IN CORONAL PLANE - around A-P axis)

 

• Lateral rotation – takes anterior surface away from the midline (OCCURS IN TRANSVERSE PLANE – around vertical axis)

• Medial rotation – brings anterior surface back towards midline (OCCURS IN TRANSVERSE PLANE – around vertical axis)

 

• Supination – rotates radius laterally

• Pronation- rotates radius medially

 

• Plantarflexion (movement of ankle joint) - planting foot back on the ground (OCCURS IN SAGITTAL PLANE)

• Dorsiflexion (movement of ankle joint) - top of foot moves off ground (OCCURS IN SAGITTAL PLANE)

Body side termonology

• Unilateral – refers to something occurring on one side only

• Bilateral – refers to something occurring on both sides

• Ipsilateral – describes structures on the same side (e.g. Upper left limb and lower left limb)

• Contralateral – refers to opposite sides (left and ride thumbs)

Kinematics

describes how something moves, helps us observe and describe movement

Types of motion (rotary and translatory):

angular displacement - is movement of a segment around an axis in a curved path (e.g. flexion and extension of knee occurs around an axis within sagittal plane)

(linear displacement) - is the movement of a segment along an axis in a straight line (e.g. a medial  or lateral gliding motion of patella occurs along a medial-lateral axis)

Magnitude of rotary motion:

ROM – units are degrees, use a goniometer

Arthrokinematics:

• The accessory joint motions that occur at the level of the joint surfaces during physiological movement.

• Essential for normal range of motion, stability and joint health.

Three types of Arthrokinematics:

Roll: when new points on one surface meet new points on another, like a tyre rolling on the road

Slide(or glide): one point on a surface contact many new points on the opposite surface, like a box sliding across a table

Spin: When one surface rotates around a stationary point on the other, like a spinning top