Question

Anatomy Tutorial: Basic Terminology

Answer 1

- anatomical position: an orientation of a body (usu. human) with the legs held close and the arms at the side, with the head, arms, and legs facing forward



- midline: the line that divides the body symmetrically down the middle of the anatomical position
> lateral: the direction away from the midline
> medial: the direction towards the midline
- proximal: an object's relative location farther back along the axis of a limb (probably easier to understand w/ an example)
ex. the calves are proximal to the ankles
- distal: an object's relative location farther along the axis of a limb
ex. the toes are distal to the ankles

Answer 2

- caudal region: the "tail" region, or in humans, the umbilical region
- cranial: the head region
- dorsal: the back region
- palmar: the dorsal region of hand (the palm)
- plantar: the dorsal region of the feet (the bottoms of the feet)

\({\bf{Body~Cavities:}}\)
- dorsal cavity: a combination of the dorsal regions of the body; cranial cavity + spinal cavity
> cranial cavity: contains brain
> spinal cavity: contains spinal cord

- ventral cavity: a combination of the ventral regions of the body; thoracic cavity + pericardial cavity + abdominal cavity + pelvic cavity
> thoracic cavity: contains lungs
> pericardial cavity: contains heart
> abdominal cavity: contains some digestive organs (stomach, intestines, liver, etc.)
> pelvic cavity: contains reproductive organs and bladder

Answer 3

\({\bf{Three~Planes:}}\) transverse, frontal, sagittal

- transverse: perpendicular to the midline/long axis, divides object into superior and inferior parts (top and bottom)
- frontal: divides object into anterior and posterior (front and back) parts
- sagittal: divides object into left and right parts

Answer 4

Anyway, that's the end of my tutorial, I hope it was a helpful resource. Source material is the Princeton Review Anatomy Workbook, 4th ed.