Intro to Anatomy

ANATOMICAL POSITION

• sagittal plane - cutting body into a left side & right side

  • medial sagittal plane- cut in the middle

  • parasagittal - not equal halves

• transverse plane - cuts body into a top half & a bottom half

• coronal plane - cuts body into a front part & a back part

ALWAYS assumed body is in anatomical position

• ulna - closest to body in anatomical position

• radius - furthest from body in anatomical position

  

directional terms

• cranial extremity - towards the head end of the body

• caudal extremity - towards the feet end of the body

• superior - over, above, going towards the head

• cephalic - going towards the head

• inferior - going towards to feet

• caudal - going towards the feet

• posterior going towards the back of the body

• dorsal - along the spine, going towards the back of the body

• anterior - going towards the front of the body

• ventral - abdominal side, going towards the front of the body

• medial - towards the middle of the body

• lateral - towards the side of the body

• proximal - towards the plane of origin, closer to the body

• distal - away from the plane of origin, out from the body

• superficial - towards the surface of the body (papercut)

• deep - towards the inside of the body (bullet wound)

THE INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM

• skin is made up of 2 primary layers

  • epidermis: outer layer, it is composed primarily of epithelial tissue laying on top of a layer of connective tissue

  • dermis: internal primary layer in top of the layer of skin is called the dermis and it is primarily connective tissues

• the epidermis contains melanin cells which are the brownish-black pigments of the skin.

  • the absence of these cells is called albinism

  • freckles are due to the concentrations of melanin

  • other related structures of the epidermis are hairs and nails

    • hair is an outgrowth of the epidermis

      • the hair follicle is the cylindrical cavity containing the root, and the shaft, of the hair extends above the surface of the skin

    • nails are specialized epidermal cells

  • the dermis is the inner primary layer of the skin

    • composed of connective tissue, small blood vessels, lymph vessels, and nerves of the skin

      • also includes sebaceous (oil) glands that secret sebum and serve to keep the hair and skin soft and pliable

      • the sudoriferous (sweat) glands secrete sudor and are found on most body surfaces. they open onto the surface of the skin through tiny openings called pores

      • the ceruminous (ear wax) glands secrete cerumen which helps to protect the ear canal by trapping bacteria and foreign particles.

        • however, excess of cerumen can block the passage of sound waves entering the auditory canal