what are the directional terms of the body

Table 1: Directional Terms and Meanings

Directional Term	Meaning
superior	above (or toward the head)
inferior	below (or toward the feet)
distal	farther from the trunk or origin
proximal	closer to the trunk or origin

Sep 1 2022

Full Answer

What are examples of directional terms?

Here are the directional terms that I’ll be covering:

• Superior (cranial) and inferior (caudal)
• Anterior (ventral) and Posterior (dorsal)
• Distal and proximal
• Superficial and deep
• Medial, lateral, and intermediate

Which directional term is used to describe?

Directional terms describe the positions of structures relative to other structures or locations in the body. Superior or cranial - toward the head end of the body; upper (example, the hand is part of the superior extremity ). Inferior or caudal - away from the head; lower (example, the foot is part of the inferior extremity).

What is the definition of directional terms?

Directional Terms. For the most part, directional terms are grouped in pairs of opposites based on the standard anatomical position. Superior and Inferior – Superior means above, inferior means below. E.g. The elbow is superior (above) to the hand. The foot is inferior (below) to the knee.

What are directional terms in human anatomy?

Information

• Superior/Inferior –Equivalent to above and below when moving along the long axis of a body in anatomical position. ...
• Proximal/Distal –Equivalent to near and far. ...
• Medial/Lateral –Equivalent to towards the middle or towards the edge. ...
• Anterior/Posterior –Equivalent to the front and back of a body in anatomical position. ...

More items...

What are the different directional terms used in identifying body structures?

Directional TermsAnterior (or ventral) Describes the front or direction toward the front of the body. ... Posterior (or dorsal) Describes the back or direction toward the back of the body. ... Superior (or cranial) describes a position above or higher than another part of the body proper.More items...•

What are the 4 main anatomical positions?

The four main anatomical positions are: supine, prone, right lateral recumbent, and left lateral recumbent.

What are the 7 regions of the body?

The human body is divided into regions. The main ones in the human body are the head, neck, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, together with the upper and lower extremities. The upper limb is divided into shoulder, arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, and hand.

What are the 5 regions of the body?

The five regions of the body are the head, neck, torso, upper extremities, and lower extremities. The body is also divided by three imaginary planes known as the sagittal plane, coronal plane, and transverse plane. The sagittal plane runs vertically and divides the body into right and left portions.

How do you remember anatomical positions?

1:373:16Anatomical Position And Directional Terms - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipYou could say that the lungs lie lateral to the heart lateral can also be used to describe how you'MoreYou could say that the lungs lie lateral to the heart lateral can also be used to describe how you're looking at the body while the body will always be referenced from the anatomical.

What is the anatomical position quizlet?

In the anatomical position, the body is erect with feet slightly apart and arms at the sides. This position is easy to remember because it resembles "standing at attention," except that the palms face forward and the thumbs point away from the body. You just studied 20 terms!

What are the 3 main body planes?

There are three planes of the body: Coronal (frontal) plane: separates the front (anterior) and back (posterior) of the body. Sagittal (longitudinal) plane: separates the left and right sides of the body. Transverse (axial) plane: separates the upper (superior) and lower (inferior) halves of the body.

What is the anatomical position and what is its purpose?

Anatomical position: The position with the body erect with the arms at the sides and the palms forward. The anatomical position is of importance in anatomy because it is the position of reference for anatomical nomenclature.

What are the different regions of the human body?

Image name: Regions of the Human Body Section: Anatomical Regions, Image description: Cephalon or head (cephalic) Frons or forehead (frontal) Cranium or skull (cranial) Facies or face (facial) Oculus or eye (orbital or ocular) Bucca or cheek (buccal) Auris or ear (otic) Nasus or nose (nasal) Oris or mouth (oral) Mentis or chin (mental) Cervicis or neck (cervical) Trunk Shoulder (acromial) Dorsum or back (dorsal) Thorcis or thorax, chest (thoracic) Mamma or breast (mammary) Abdomen (abdominal) Umbilicus or naval (umbilical) Lumbus or loin (lumbar) Sacrum (sacral) Hip (coxal) Pelvis (pelvic) Inguen or groin (inguinal) Pubis (pubic) Gluteus or buttock (gluteal) Upper limb Brachium or arm (brachial) Antecubitis or front of elbow (antecubital) Olecranon or back of elbow (olecranal) Antebrachium or forearm (antebrachial) Carpus or wrist (carpal) Manus or hand (manual) Pollex or thumb Palma or palm (palmar) Digits (phalanges) or fingers (digital or phalangeal) Lower limb Crus or leg (crural) Femur or thigh (femoral) Popliteus or back of knee (popliteal) Patella or kneecap (patellar) Sura or calf (sural) Tarsus or ankle (tarsal) Pes or foot (pedal) Calcaneus or heel of foot (calcanea) Planta or sole of foot (plantar) Digits (phalanges) or toes (digital or phalangeal) Hallux or great toe ↵

What are the three planes of the human body?

However, we will focus on the three planes that are traditionally used when discussing human anatomy. First is the transverse plane, (also called the horizontal plane), which divides the body into top and bottom. In anatomical position, transverse planes are parallel to the ground. The second is the coronal plane , which is a vertical plane that divides the body into the front and back sections. If you do a “belly flop” into the water, you sink into the water via the coronal planes. Finally, we will refer to the sagittal plane, which divides the body into left and right sections with a vertical plane that passes from the front to the rear.

What are the commonality between body types?

Another commonality across body types are the body planes and directional terms. Those in the health professions must speak the same language with regard to locating and identifying specific body parts and organs. Body planes and directional terms are part of this common language. The imaginary vertical and horizontal planes run through the body, essentially cutting it into parts. This section provides an introduction to this new “language” and opportunities to practice using it in context so that you become comfortable locating and describing all organs and parts in the body and in relation to each other. Everything that you learn after body planes and directional terms will be referring to this terminology to help you visualize, identify, and locate anatomical structures.

What are the two areas of the dorsal cavity?

The dorsal (posterior) body cavity is separated into two areas. The cranial cavity contains the brain, while the spinal cavity (or vertebral cavity) contains the spinal cord. These two spaces are continuous.

What is lateral pass?

Some of them may be terms you have heard in everyday conversation; a lateral pass in football, for example, is a pass toward the sideline.

What are the three body planes?

Sagittal, Coronal, and Transverse body planes and their intersections. By YassineMrabet ( Human Anatomy Planes) / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA.

What does dorsal mean in anatomy?

You may remember dorsal as meaning towards the back or spinal column, and ventral as being towards the belly. While posterior and anterior have replaced those in common usage, the body cavities still maintain the older terminology.

What is the standard anatomical position of the body?

It is the fact that the standard anatomical position of the body is to stand straight with front facing palms of the hands & upper limbs at the side. The image below explains various directional terms of anatomy in the simplest manner. Most of the directional terms used to describe the relationship of one part of the body to another can be grouped ...

What is directional term?

Directional terms are used to describe the relationship of one part of the body to another. Various body parts and their relationship with other body parts can be easily understood by the usage of Directional terms in anatomy. Readers have the ease to analyze the anatomical position of the body parts with these directional terms.

What are the bones of the human body?

The human body consists of an axial portion, the head, neck, and trunk, and an appendicular portion, the upper and lower limbs and their girdles. Each of these major portions of the body is divided into regions with special names to facilitate communication and to aid in locating body components.

What is superior directional?

Most of the directional terms used to describe the relationship of one part of the body to another can be grouped into pairs that have opposite meanings. For example, superior means toward the upper part of the body, and inferior means toward the lower part of the body.

Is your knee superior to your ankle?

For example, your knee is superior to your ankle, even though both are located in the inferior half of the body . Study the directional terms below and the example of how each is used. As you read the examples, look at Figure above to see the location of each structure.

Is the elbow proximal to the wrist?

The elbow is proximal to the wrist. The fingernails are at the distal ends of the fingers. The skin is superficial to the muscles. The bones are deep to the muscles. The human body consists of an axial portion, the head, neck, and trunk, and an appendicular portion, the upper and lower limbs and their girdles.

Why do anatomists use medical terminology?

However, the purpose of this language is to increase accuracy and reduce the chance for medical errors. For example, is an injury “above the wrist” located on the forearm two or three inches away from the hand or at the base of the hand? Is it on the palm-side or back-side? By using precise anatomical terminology, we eliminate ambiguity. Many of these terms are derive from ancient Greek and Latin words since the meaning of their words are universal and do not change.#N#To increase precision, anatomists standardize the way in which they view the body. Just as maps are normally oriented with north at the top, the standard body “map,” or anatomical position, is that of the body standing upright, with the feet at shoulder width and parallel, toes forward. The upper limbs are held out to each side, and the palms of the hands face. Using this standard position reduces since the anatomical terms are independent of the body’s orientated.

What are directional and regional terms?

Directional and regional terms are used in anatomy to precisely describe specific locations. Many of these terms were chosen from Greek and Latin root words.

What does "superficial to" mean?

For instance, an anatomist might describe one band of tissue as “ inferior to” another or a physician might describe a tumor as “superficial to” a deeper body structure. These terms usually come in pairs, with one word meaning a specific direction and the paired word meaning the opposite. Let’s take a look at some common directional terms.

Which arm is closer to the wrist?

The distal forearm is closer to the wrist. You may have noticed that these terms are always communicating a position or direction relative to something else. For example, your abdomen would be superior if relative to your legs, but inferior relative to your chest.

Is the front of the body the belly side?

For two legged animals, the answer is pretty straightforward: not much. Since the front of our body is also the ‘bellyside,’ there used somewhat interchangably. Likewise for our back (posterior) and ‘spine side’ (dorsal). However, for four legged animals, this isn’t the case.

What is anatomical position?

Anatomical position is the description of any region or part of the body in a specific stance. In the anatomical position, the body is upright, directly facing the observer, feet flat and directed forward. The upper limbs are at the body’s sides with the palms facing forward. Like so: Image captured in AR using Human Anatomy Atlas.

What is the directional line?

Here are some commonly used directional terms: Anterior. At or near the front of the body (front view) Posterior. At or near the back of the body (back view) Midline. An imaginary vertical line that divides the body equally (right down the middle) Lateral. Farther from midline (side view)

What do you need to know before taking an A&P course?

For those of you who have taken an A&P course (or are taking one right now), you know that before you get to learning about the body you need to learn how to talk about the body. Most A&P courses begin with positions and directionals. I’m going to give you the rundown.

When you study a body, do you use directional terms?

Imagine that when you’re studying a (correctly anatomically positioned) body you’re looking at a map. Like you use the cardinal directions to explain the location of certain regions (north, northwest, southeast, etc.), you use directional terms to describe the regions of the body.

Can posterosuperior view be paired?

In many instances, these terms can be paired. For example, a posterosuperior view combines the posterior and superior, giving us a view in which we are looking down at the back of the body, like so:

Is anterior superior or anterior?

If you answered B) anterosuperior, you’re right! Remember, the anterior is the front view and the superior is the top view—combine the two and you’ve got yourself a bird’s-eye view of the front of the body.

Why is it important to remember the anatomical position?

It’s important for you to remember the anatomical position, because that’s the standard perspective everyone uses when talking about anatomy and the directional terms. By using a standard point of reference, you can ensure that everyone will understand what you’re talking about when you refer to the anterior side of the left forearm, for example. ...

What do you learn in anatomy and physiology?

When you take Anatomy and Physiology, you’ll learn about the anatomical position, as well as some basic directional terms. These terms may seem complicated at first, but they are easy to learn, and I’m going to give you some tips for remembering them.

What does "superior" mean in a directional term?

The first pair of directional terms refer to the relative position toward or away from the head. Superior (or cranial) means “ toward the head end of the body” or “higher/above.”. You can remember this because the head of a company is your superior at work. He or she holds a “higher” position than you do. They are above you in authority.

What is the difference between proximal and distal?

You literally “go the distance” with distal. Proximal is the opposite of distal. It means “closest to” or “nearest” the point of origin of a structure , such as your limb in relation to your trunk.

What are directional terms in anatomy?

Anatomy Directional Terms. Here’s an important tip for understanding directional terms: they are usually grouped in pairs of opposites. If you can learn the meaning of at least one of the directional terms in a pair, you can easily know the meaning of the opposing directional term.

What does the word "posterior" mean?

The word ventral literally means belly! Posterior (or dorsal) means the opposite of anterior: “back of” or “behind/on the back.”. This is easy to remember because “posterior” is another word for your rear end, which is on your backside. An anatomy test question might ask, “Your sternum is ________ to your spine.”.

How to remember spray painting?

An easy way to remember this is to imagine that you’re walking to the parking lot, and you see someone spray painting graffiti on your car. You’d probably scream, “What are you doing?!” with your hands to your side. That’s basically the anatomical position. If you practice doing it a few times, you’ll never forget it.