They occur in opposing pairs and include: Movement of parts of the body is described in relation to the anatomical position. left and right are used to differentiate between paired body parts.contralateral: on the opposite side of the body.ipsilateral: on the same side of the body.lingual: surface of a mandibular tooth facing the tongue.palatal: surface of a maxillary tooth facing the hard palate.buccal: surface of a tooth facing the lip or cheek.distal: surface of a tooth facing away from the anterior midline.mesial: surface of a tooth facing towards the anterior midline.external: lateral aspect of the body (e.g.internal: medial aspect of the body (e.g.fibular: fibular aspect of the anatomical leg.tibial: tibial aspect of the anatomical leg.volar, palmar: anterior, used in relation to the hand.rostral: anterior used in brain development.caudal: towards the tail (feet) an embryological term derived from vertebrates with tails.dorsal: superior or posterior, can be used in structures that protrude away from the body (such as the tongue, penis, nose, hand and foot) an embryological term that describes a structure's position during development which may be altered from the end position after development.Other older or traditional terms are still in use today, some of which are particularly relevant in embryology and include: deep: away from the surface of the body.superficial: towards the surface of the body.distal: away from the center of the body (Latin: far).proximal: towards the center of the body (Latin: near).lateral: away from the midline (Latin: side).compared with median which is in the midline rather than towards the midline.medial: towards the midline (Latin: middle).

inferior: towards the bottom of the body (Latin: below).superior: towards the top of the body (Latin: above).posterior: towards the back of the body (Latin: after).anterior: towards the front of the body (Latin: before).the coronal plane: vertical plane perpendicular to the median plane derives its name from the cranial coronal sutureĪnatomical description (adjectives) in regards to relationships are referenced to the anatomical position, in that:.the sagittal plane: vertical plane parallel to the median plane (or midsagittal plane which divides the body into two halves) derives its name from the cranial sagittal suture.the axial plane (transverse or transaxial plane): horizontal plane perpendicular to the long axis of the body.

The three standards (orthogonal) planes are perpendicular to each other and are:

In pairs, use any term that is helpful, from above, to describe how Tim Lincecum must move his segments to get from anatomical position to the position shown below.The anatomical planes are expressed in relation to the anatomical position when standing. Supination (subtalar joint): a combination of plantarflexion, inversion, and adduction Pronation (subtalar joint): a combination of dorsiflexion, eversion, and abduction Rotation, horizontal abduction and adduction, and forearm supination and pronation Other joint actions to know: Describe the Following Segmental Actions:įlexion, extension, hyperextension, dorsiflexion, and plantar flexionĪdduction, abduction, radial deviation, ulnar deviation, eversion, inversion, and lateral flexion Except for the ankle, when the major joints of the body are in anatomical position, they can be described as neutral, or zero degrees.ĥ. Describe and Understand the Following Planes and Corresponding Axes:įrontal Plane-Sagittal AxisTransverse Plane-Longitudinal AxisThere is one cardinal plane (each cardinal plane bisects the entire body, at the whole-body center of mass), and there is an infinite number of secondary planes (these are each parallel to the cardinal plane) that can be used to describe human motion.Īnatomical position (see illustration above) is the standard reference position for the body when describing locations joint position, or the movements of limbs and/or other anatomical structures. Understand the Following Spatial and Directional Terminology:Īnterior/PosteriorSuperior/Inferior Medial/LateralProximal/Distalģ. The bones you should be familiar with include: BonesĪdditionally, the muscles and muscle functions you should know are circled on this muscles linkĢ.

Anatomical position