B1.1 Anatomical position
📍 Describing Position
Positions described relative to other body parts
Uses specific anatomical terms
Some terms appear in:
Muscle names
Body structure names
→ Provide clues to location
🧍♂ Effect of Posture
Position of structures can change
Influenced by:
Posture
How an individual stands
📐 Reference Positions
Used to clarify:
Starting posture
Joint movements
Helpful for description & demonstration
🧍 Anatomical Body Position
Standing upright
Facing forward
Feet parallel and close together
Palms facing forward
🔑 Key Takeaway
Anatomical terminology describes body part positions relative to each other, using standard reference positions to ensure clarity and consistency.
⬆⬇ Up / Down
⬆ Superior = Up, or above
⬇ Inferior = Down, or below
🧠 The head is superior to the shoulders
🦴 The pelvis is inferior to the chest
↔ Front / Back
➡ Anterior = front, or farther forward
⬅ Posterior = back, or farther back
🫀 The sternum (chestbone) is anterior to the spine
📏 Far / Close (to body centre)
↔ Distal = far, or farther
↔ Proximal = close, or closer
💪 The elbow is proximal to the wrist
🦶 The toes are distal to the knees
🧭 Distance to Midline
➡ Medial = closer to midline
⬅ Lateral = sides, or farther from midline
🫀 The sternum is medial to the shoulders
🔀 Intermediate = between a medial and lateral structure
📥📤 In / Out
🔽 Internal = farther from the surface, more inside
🔼 External = closer to the surface
🧠 Axial – skull, ribs, sternum, vertebra
🛡 Typically for protection
🏃♂ Appendicular – all the other bones
🧍 Typically for movement and posture
🦴 Bone functions
🛡 Protection
🧍 Posture
💪 Attachment for muscles
💎 Mineral storage
🩸 Blood cell production (haemopoiesis)
⚡ Energy storage (lipids in yellow marrow)
🦴 Included Bones
💀 Skull
Protects the brain, 👀 eyes, 👂 ear canals
🦷 Has teeth
🙂 Includes face and cranium
Sternum
Ribs
Vertebral column
🔒 Main Function
Encloses vital body structures
✔ Primary role → protection
🦴 Vertebral column
Consists of 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar; sacrum is 5 fused, coccyx 3 fused.
🧠 Protects spinal cord
💪 Strong and flexible
⬆⬇ Strength increases from top to bottom (cervical more delicate, lumbar strong)
🔄 Bends to allow for movement (anteriorly/posteriorly, laterally, rotationally)
📐 Thoracic is convex, lumbar and cervical are concave
⚠ Exaggerated curves concave = lordosis, exaggerated convex = kyphosis
↔ Lateral curve = scoliosis (C or S)
🦴 (Articulation = where bones meet → a joint)
🛡 Rib cage – contains flat sternum (chest bone) and ribs
🔗 Ribs articulate with thoracic vertebrae and some with the sternum
🔢 12 pairs of ribs (one for each vertebra)
1⃣–7⃣ First 7 ribs articulate directly with the sternum
8⃣–🔟 Ribs 8–10 articulate with cartilage that attaches to the sternum
1⃣1⃣–1⃣2⃣ Ribs 11–12 are floating
🫁 Intercostal muscles
Connect the ribs
Involved in breathing
🏃 Primary Role
Mostly involved in movement
🦾 Upper Body
🔗 Pectoral (Shoulder) Girdle
Formed by:
Clavicles
Scapulae
Clavicles articulate with the sternum anteriorly
✔ Only bony connection between pectoral girdle and axial skeleton
💪 Upper Arm
Humerus
Typical long bone
Enlarged at upper and lower ends
Upper end → articulates with scapula → shoulder joint
Lower end → articulates with proximal ulna → elbow joint
🦴 Lower Arm
Two long bones:
Ulna
Radius
Together form the radioulnar joint
→ Allows bones to rotate around each other
✋ Wrist & Hand
Radius and ulna articulate with carpal bones
Fingers:
3 phalanges per finger
Thumb has 2 phalanges
✔ Allows fine, precise movements
🔗 Pelvis
Made of three fused bones:
Ilium
Ischium
Pubis
Articulates with the sacrum
✔ Links lower extremities to the axial skeleton
🦴 Upper Leg
Femur
One long bone
Enlarged at proximal & distal ends
✔ Longest and heaviest bone in the body
🦵 Lower Leg
Tibia
Prominent
Located anteriorly
Commonly called the shin bone
Fibula
Long bone
Runs parallel and lateral to the tibia
🦿 Knee Joint
Patella (kneecap)
Small, triangular bone
Located at front of knee
Functions:
↑ leverage of quadriceps tendon
Maintains tendon position during knee flexion
Protects the knee joint
🦶 Ankle & Foot
Tibia & fibula articulate with the talus (tarsal bone)
Calcaneus
Most prominent tarsal
Forms the heel
Distal tarsals → articulate with metatarsals
Metatarsals → articulate with phalanges
🦶 Toes
Three phalanges per toe
✔ Big toe has two phalanges only
🔗 Joints
Body segments articulated by synovial joints
Occur where two or more bones meet
🔄 Movement at Joints
Movement usually involves rotation
One segment moves relative to another
💪 Forces Causing Movement
Origin from:
Muscles
Other body segments
External factors:
Gravity
Sporting implements
Other people
🔍 Importance of Understanding Movement
Knowing joint movements and muscle control is:
Crucial for analysing human activity
Important in sport and exercise contexts
🧭 Describing Movement
Precise and concise movement terminology is used
Helps with:
Description and analysis of motion
Shared understanding between:
Sports scientists
Physical educators
Coaches
Sports medicine practitioners
🧍♂ An axis is like a skewer that goes through the body
🧵 Longitudinal = skewers you top to bottom ⬆⬇
🧵 Sagittal = skewers you front to back ↔
🧵 Frontal = skewers you left to right ⬅➡
🔄 Joint movement
Joints rotate around one or more axes
Axis can move, as long as orientation stays the same
🧍 Movement examples
Bending at the waist → rotation around frontal axis
Nodding your head → rotation around frontal axis
📐 A plane is a 2-dimensional area made up of two axes, and location along the third axis remains the same
🧭 Sagittal plane(s)
Made up of sagittal + longitudinal axes
❌ Not frontal
✂ Divides the body into left and right
🧍♂ Frontal plane(s)
Made up of frontal + longitudinal axes
❌ Not sagittal
✂ Divides the body into front and back
⬆⬇ Transverse plane(s)
Made up of frontal + sagittal axes
❌ Not longitudinal
✂ Divides the body into top and bottom
🔄 Simple joint movement is rotation about an axis, while moving in a plane
🧭 The rotational axis is the one not included in the plane
📐 Sagittal plane(s)
🙋 Raising arms to the front
↔ Rotation about the frontal axis
📐 Frontal plane(s)
🙆 Raising arms to the side
↔ Rotation about the sagittal axis
📐 Transverse plane(s)
🔁 Turning your head to the side
⬆⬇ Rotation about the longitudinal axis
👃 Think about where your nose is during this movement
🔄 Some joints move about just one axis, others have multiple axes
🦴 Uniaxial joint – ex. Elbow
🦾 Biaxial joint – ex. Wrist
🏋 Triaxial joint – ex. shoulder
📐 Sagittal Plane (frontal axis)
↘ Flexion – closing a joint angle
👉 Ex. The elbow joint (most visible with hands at side)
↗ Extension – opening a joint angle
📐 Frontal Plane (sagittal axis)
⬅➡ Abduction – opening joint angle
👉 Ex. The hip joint (kicking legs out to the side and back)
➡⬅ Adduction – closing joint angle
📐 Transverse Plane (longitudinal axis)
🔁 Medial rotation – toward midline
👉 Ex. Twisting hip joint to point toes inward
🔄 Lateral rotation – away from midline
🔄 Some words refer to movement that don’t necessarily correspond to an axis
⬆⬇ Elevation / Depression – an upward / downward movement
👉 e.g. shrugging shoulders
➡⬅ Protraction / Retraction – anterior (forward) / backward movement
👉 e.g. rounding shoulders forward / pulling them back
↔ Horizontal extension / flexion – medial / lateral rotation of a joint that was already flexed
👉 e.g. pec flys
🦶 Dorsiflexion / Plantarflexion – flexion / extension of the ankle
👉 plantarflexion = pointing toes
👣 Eversion / Inversion – movement of the foot so soles point out (eversion) or toward each other (inversion)
🤲 Pronation / Supination – rotation of the radioulnar joint
👉 pronation = palms backward or down
👉 supination = palms forward or up
👍 Opposition / Reposition – touching the thumb to fingertips (opposition) / returning to resting
🌀 Circumduction – the circular movement of a joint (👍 thumb / 🦾 shoulder / 🦵 hip)
🚶♂🦶 Pronation / Supination of the foot – the movement during walking
⬆ Supination is a combination of:
🦶 Plantarflexion
🔄 Inversion
➡ Adduction
⬇ Pronation is a combination of:
🦶 Dorsiflexion
🔄 Eversion
⬅ Abduction
⚠ These are different from inversion and eversion of the foot as they:
🔁 Involve more axes
✔ Are the natural movement of the foot
🚑 Inversion & eversion are typically what result in a rolled ankle
📐 Range of Motion (ROM)
🦴 4 Factors Affecting ROM
🧩 Shape of articulating bone surfaces
🔗 Position & length of ligaments
💪 Effects of muscles & tendons
🧍 Amount of soft tissue (skin, fat, muscle)
🏃 ROM & Performance
✔ Large ROM → beneficial for sport
→ Forces can be applied over a greater distance
⚠ Excessive ROM (Hypermobility)
Can ↑ risk of:
Dislocation
Joint damage
Especially relevant in:
🤸 Gymnastics
🩰 Ballet
✔ Large ROM is often considered good because forces can be applied over greater distances
⚠ Hypermobility is a large ROM to a fault and can result in dislocations
🧍 Anthropometric Data
Measures:
Body dimensions
Proportions
Physical characteristics
🏗 Applications in Equipment Design
Used by manufacturers to:
Design for diverse body sizes & proportions
Ensure better fit across body types
↓ Risk of injury or discomfort (sizing)
📊 Performance Insights
Analysis helps understand links between:
Body dimensions
Sport performance characteristics
⚙ Performance Optimization
Equipment design can enhance:
Aerodynamics
Balance
Leverage
Range of motion (ROM)
🌍 Inclusivity & User Experience
Products suited to a wide range of body sizes
Promotes:
Inclusivity
Improved user experience
Greater satisfaction with equipment
🧠 Human-centred focus
Considers biomechanics (and physiology)
Aims to minimize discomfort and fatigue
🪑 Comfort & support
Proper support, padding and contours:
↓ pressure points
↓ muscle strain
↑ overall comfort
Allows focus on performance with less energy spent on discomfort
🧍 Posture & alignment
Promotes correct posture and body alignment
Results in:
↓ stress on joints, muscles and tendons
Smoother, more efficient movement
↓ injury risk
↑ performance efficiency
🔄 Range of motion (ROM)
Enables optimal ROM
Avoids restriction from poorly designed equipment
Supports natural joint movement and freedom of motion
Allows efficient movement with minimal constraints or energy cost
🎛 Interfaces & controls
Focus on intuitive, user-friendly design for equipment with controls
🔁 Testing & refinement
Testing and feedback used to assess performance impact
Iterative design process to refine equipment
Ensures designs meet user needs and preferences