The appendicular part consists of the limbs (appendages) attached to the body’s axis. The axial part makes up the main axis of the body and includes the head, neck, and trunk. The two main divisions of the body are its axial and appendicular parts. Deep (internal)– Away from the body surfaceĭirectional terms allow us to explain where one body part is when compared to another.Superficial (external)– toward or at the body surface.Distal– away from the origin of a body part or point of attachment of a limb to the body trunk.Proximal– closer to the origin of the body part or point of attachment of a limb to the body trunk.Intermediate– between a medial and lateral position.The anatomical position is of importance in anatomy. Lateral– away from the midline of the body Anatomical position: The position with the body erect with the arms at the sides and the palms forward.Medial– toward or at the midline of the body.Dorsal (posterior)– toward or at the back of the body behind.Ventral (anterior)– toward or at the front of the body in front of.Inferior (caudal)– away from the head or toward the lower part of the body below.Superior (cranial)– toward the head or upper part of the body above.It’s important to understand the anatomical position because most directional terms are based off it. In the anatomical position, the body is erect, the palms of the hand face forward, the thumbs point away from the body, and the feet are slightly apart. The anatomical reference point is a standard body position called the anatomical position.

In order to describe body parts and positions correctly, the medical community has developed a set of anatomical positions and directional terms widely used in the healthcare industry. We’ll begin by going over “anatomical position and directional terms”. In order to provide exquisite care and understand the inner workings of the human body, anatomical terminology is a necessity. The healthcare industry has its own terminology, especially anatomy and physiology. The knee joint is proximal to the ankle joint.Anatomical position and directional terms.The scaphoid lies in the proximal row of carpal bones.Unlike the situation in other vertebrates, the limbs are placed in positions reminiscent of the supine position imposed on cadavers during autopsy. In standard anatomical position, the human body is standing erect and at rest. The wrist joint is distal to the elbow joint. The standard anatomical position in a male and female.They describe the position of a structure with reference to its origin - proximal means closer to its origin, distal means further away.

The terms proximal and distal are used in structures that are considered to have a beginning and an end (such as the upper limb, lower limb and blood vessels). The appendix is (usually) inferior to the transverse colon.Therefore, in addition to the superior and inferior, we need another descriptive pair of terms: Here we run into a small complication, and limbs are very mobile, and what is superior in one position is inferior in another. The head is superior to the neck the umbilicus is inferior to the sternum. Superior means ‘higher’, inferior means ‘lower’. The patella is located anteriorly in the lower limb.The triceps are posterior to biceps brachii.Pectoralis major lies anterior to pectoralis minor.Equally, the sternum is anterior to the heart because it lies in front of it. When referencing a structure that is on one side of the body or the other, we use the terms anatomical right and anatomical left. These two people are both in anatomical position. Putting this in context, the heart is posterior to the sternum because it lies behind it. Anatomical position for a human is when the human stands up, faces forward, has arms extended, and has palms facing out.

Fig 1.0 - Anatomical terms of location labelled on the anatomical position.Īnterior refers to the ‘front’, and posterior refers to the ‘back’. Anatomical position is useful for gaining an understanding of how things are oriented in the body and what the basic movements are, but at some point you need to see past the constraints of it. You likely know your right from your left, but ignoring perspective can get you all mixed up.