Anatomical Terminology

Front 1

Anatomical Position

Back 1

A body posture with the body erect, the face forward, the arms at the sides with the palms facing forward, and the toes pointing straight ahead

Front 2

Relative Positions

Back 2

Terms of relative position are used to decribe the location of one body part with respect to another

Front 3

Surperior

Back 3

meaning a part is above another part, or closed to the head. (The thoracic cavity is ??? to the abdominopelvic cavity.)

Front 4

Inferior

Back 4

Means a part is below anouther part, or toward the feet. (The neck is ??? to the head.)

Front 5

Anterior (or Ventral)

Back 5

Means towards the front. (The eyes are ??? to the brain.)

Front 6

Posterior (or Dordal)

Back 6

Is the opposite of anterior; it means toward the back. (The pharynx is ??? to the oral cavity.)

Front 7

Medial

Back 7

Relates to an imaginary midline dividing the body into equal right and left haves. A part is medial if it is closer to this line than anouther part. (The nose is ??? to the eyes)

Front 8

Lateral

Back 8

Means towards the side with respect to the imaginary midline. (The ears are ??? to the eyes.)

Front 9

Ipsilateral

Back 9

Pertains to the same side (the spleen and the descending colon are ??? )

Front 10

Contralateral

Back 10

Refers to the opposite side (the spleen and the gallbladder are ??? )

Front 11

Proximal

Back 11

Describes a part that is closer to the trunk of the body or closer to another specified point of reference than anouther part. (The elbow is ??? to the wrist.)

Front 12

Distal

Back 12

Is the opposite of proximal. Means particular body part is farther from the trunk or farther from another specified point of reference than anouther part (The fingers are ??? to the wrist.)

Front 13

Superficial

Back 13

Means situated near the surface. (The epidermis is the ??? layer of skin.)

Front 14

Peripheral

Back 14

Also means outward or near the surface. It describes the location of certain blood vessels and nerves.

Front 15

Deep

Back 15

Describes parts that are more internal

Front 16

Mid Sagittal or median plane

Back 16

Refers to a lengthwise cut that divides the body into right and left portions

Front 17

Transverse or Horizontal

Back 17

Refers to a cut that divides the body into superior and inferior portions

Front 18

Coronal or Frontal plane

Back 18

Refers to a section that divides the body into anterior and posterior portions.

Front 19

Epigastric Region

Back 19

The upper middle portion

Front 20

Left and Right Hypchondriac Regions

Back 20

On each side of the epigastric region

Front 21

Umbilical Region

Back 21

The central portion

Front 22

Left and Right Lumbar Regions

Back 22

On each side of the umbilical region

Front 23

Hypogastric Region

Back 23

The lower middle portion

Front 24

Left and Right Iliac (or inguinal) Region

Back 24

On each side of the hypogastric region