Terminology of anatomy - understandance

It is essential for understanding this area to become introduced with an internationally accepted vocabulary, allowing communication and understanding between all members of all professions related to medicine and sports. Perhaps the single, most important descriptive feature of this is the adoption of unequivocal position of human body. This is known as anatomical position. It is described as follows: the body is standing erect and facing forwards, the legs are together with the feet parallel so that the toes point forwards; the arms hang loosely by the sides with the palm of the hand facing forward so that the thumb is lateral(see picture below). All positional terminology is used with reference to this position, irrespective of the actual position of the body when performing an activity.  

UPPER PART

LOWER PART

The following is a list of more commonly used terms which describe the position of anatomical structures:

Anterior(ventral) – to the front or in front, e.g. the patella lies anterior to the knee joint.

Posterior(dorsal) – to the rear or behind, e.g. gluteus maximus lies posterior to the hip joint(ventral and dorsal are used more commonly in four-legged animals).

Superior(cephalic) – above, e.g. the head is superior to the trunk.

Inferior(caudal) – below, e.g. the knee is inferior to the hip.

Cephalic(the head) caudal(the tail) – may be used in relation to the trunk.

Lateral – away from the median plane or midline, e.g. the little toe lies lateral to the big toe.

Medial – towards the median plane or midline, e.g. the little finger lies medial to the thumb.

Distal – away from the trunk or root of the limb, e.g. the foot is distal to the knee.

Proximal – close to the trunk or root of the limb, e.g. the wrist is proximal to the hand.

Superficial – close to the surface of the body or skin, e.g. the ulnar nerve passes superficial to the flexor retinaculum of the wrist.

Deep – away from the body surface or skin, e.g. the tendon of tibialis posterior passes deep to the flexor retinaculum is the ankle.

To facilitate the understanding of the relation of structures one to another and the movement of one segment with respect to another, imaginary reference plans pass through the body in such a way that they are mutually perpendicular to each other(see figure above). Passing through the body from front to back and dividing it into two symmetrical right and left halves is the sagittal(median) plane. Any plane parallel to this is also known as a sagittal(paramedian) plane.

A plane passing through the body from top to bottom and lying at right angles to the sagittal plane is the coronal(frontal) plane. This divides the body into anterior and posterior parts. All planes that divide the body in this way are known as the coronal planes. Finally, a plane passing through the body at right angles dividing it into upper and lower parts is known as a transverse(horizontal) plane. A whole family of parallel transverse planes exist, it is therefore usual when presenting a particular transverse section to specify the level at which it is taken. This may be done by specifying the vertebral level or the position within the limb, e.g. C6 or midshaft or humerus respectively.

Within an each plane a single axis can be identified, usually an association with a particular joint, about which movement takes place. An anteroposteriorly directed axis in the sagittal(or a paramedian) plane allows movement in a coronal plane. Similarly, a vertical axis in a coronal plane allows movement in a transverse plane. Lastly a transverse(right to the left) axis in a coronal plane provides movement in a paramedian plane.

By arranging that these various axes intersect at the centre of joints, the movement possible at the joint can be broken down into simple components. It also becomes easier to understand how specific muscle groups produce particular movements, as well as determining the resultant movement of combined muscle actions.