ANATOMICAL TERMS/POSITION

BY

ABHULIME ODALOIGHE BERNICE MUI/SBMS/NS/23/0001

ABULU OSEBHAHIEME STEPHANIE MUI/SBMS/NS/23/0002
ABUMERE OSELUMESE EMMANUEL MUI/SBMS/NS/23/0003
ADETUNJI FATIMA MUI/SBMS/NS/23/0004

PRESENTED TO

DEPARTMENT OF NURSING,
SCHOOL OF BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCES,
MUDIAME UNIVERSITY,
IRRUA-EDO STATE.

SUPERVISOR: MISS OGBE ONOME CLEMENTINA

JANUARY, 2024 1
 OUTLINE

 INTRODUCTION

 DESCRIPTIVE ANATOMICAL TERMS

 ANATOMICAL TERMS

 ORIENTATION AND DIRECTIONAL TERMS

 ANATOMICAL POSITION

 ANATOMICAL PLANES
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 INTRODUCTION

DESCRIPTIVE ANATOMICAL TERMS:-

 It is important for medical students to have a sound knowledge and understanding of the
basic anatomical terms (Solomon, 2022).

 To compare the location of body parts relative to each other.

 Without anatomic terms, one cannot accurately discuss or record the abnormal position of
organs, or the exact location of swellings or tumors (Goldman et al., 2021).

 Anatomy uses some universal directional terms (Clitons and Asa, 2023).

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 ANATOMICAL TERMS

- Superior (Cranial), - Proximal, - Caudal,

- Inferior (Caudal), - Distal, - Unilateral,
- Anterior (Ventral), - Medial, - Bilateral
- Posterior (Dorsal), - Lateral, - Contralateral,
- Palmar, - Superficial (External), - Ipsilateral,
- Dorsal, - Deep (Internal), - Supine,
- Planter (sole), - Intermediate, - Prone (Miller et al., 2015).
- Dorsal, - Rostral,

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 ORIENTATION AND DIRECTIONAL TERMS

 Superior (cranial) = Toward the head or

upwards.

 Inferior (caudal) = Toward feet or

downwards (Solomon, 2022).

Examples:
- The shoulder joint is superior to knee joint.

- The ankle joint is inferior to knee joint.

Figure 1: Anatomical position (Solomon, 2022).

 ORIENTATION AND DIRECTIONAL TERMS CONT’D

 Anterior (Ventral): = In front of; toward

the front surface.

 Posterior (Dorsal): At back of; toward the

back surface (Goldman et al., 2021).
 .

Example:

- The eye is anterior to the ear.

- The ear is posterior to the nose. Figure 2: Anatomical position (Goldman et al., 2021). 6
 ORIENTATION AND DIRECTIONAL TERMS CONT’D.
Hand:
 Palmar = Refers to the anterior side of the
hand.
 Dorsal = Refers to the posterior side of the
hand (Moore et al., 2014).

Foot:
 Planter (sole) = Is the part of the foot
contacting the ground.
 Dorsal = Is the part of the foot that’s
directed superiorly.

Figure 3: Anatomical position (Moore et al., 2014). 7

 ORIENTATION AND DIRECTIONAL TERMS CONT’D.

Brain:
 Rostral = Refers to the anterior (front)
aspect of the head.

 Caudal = Refers to the posterior (back)

of the head (Victor et al., 2018).

Example: The forebrain is rostral to the

midbrain.

Figure 4: Rostral and Caudal orientation (Victor et al., 2018). 8

 ORIENTATION AND DIRECTIONAL TERMS CONT’D

▪ Proximal = Closer to point of attachment

of the limb to trunk.

▪ Distal = Further from point of attachment

of the limb to trunk (Goldman et al., 2021).

Example:

- The shoulder joint is the proximal joint in

the upper limb.

- The hand is distal to the forearm.

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Figure 5: Anatomical position (Goldman et al., 2021).
 ORIENTATION AND DIRECTIONAL TERMS CONT’D

 Medial = Toward the midline of the body.

 Lateral = Away from the midline of the

body (Victor et al., 2018).

 Intermediate = in between

Example:

- The forearm has two bones, one medial, the

other is lateral.

- The arm is lateral to the chest. Figure 6: Anatomical position (Victor et al., 2018). 10
 ORIENTATION AND DIRECTIONAL TERMS CONT’D

 Superficial (External) = Closer to the body

surface (skin).

 Deep (Internal) = Further from the body

surface (skin).

 Intermediate = in between (Moore et al.,

2014).

Example:

- The bone is deep to the skin and the muscles

are intermediate.
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Figure 7: Anatomical position (Moore et al., 2014).
 ORIENTATION AND DIRECTIONAL TERMS CONT’D

 Contralateral: Refers to the opposite side.

Example: For example, the pink arm is contralateral

and green arm (Smith et.al., 2015).

 Ipsilateral: The same side.

Example: The pink arm is ipsilateral to the blue

leg.

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Figure 6: Anatomical position (Smith et al., 2015).
 ORIENTATION AND DIRECTIONAL TERMS CONT’D

 Unilateral: On one side of the body.

Example: For example, the right arm is unilateral
and right leg (Smith et.al., 2015).

 Bilateral: On both sides of the body.

Example: Testis or breast are bilateral.

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Figure 6: Anatomical position (Smith et al., 2015).
 ORIENTATION AND DIRECTIONAL TERMS CONT’D

 Supine: The body lies on the back, face upwards.

 Prone: The face is downwards (Victor et al., 2018).

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Figure 6: Anatomical position (Victor et al., 2018).
ANATOMICAL POSITION

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 ANATOMICAL POSITION

Refers to the body position as if the person were:

1. Standing erect or upright.
2. The face and palms are directed anteriorly (forward).
3. The upper limbs by the side.
4. Lower limbs close together with the feet parallel
((Moore et al., 2014; Miller et al., 2015).

Figure .2: Anatomical planes. The main planes of the body (Miller et al., 2015). 16
 ANATOMICAL PLANES
Anatomical descriptions are based on four imaginary planes that intersect the body in
the anatomical position:
1. Median,
2. Sagittal,
3. Frontal (coronal),
4. And transverse (horizontal) (Moore et al., 2014; Miller et al., 2015; Solomon et al.,
2022).

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 MEDIAN PLANE
 It is a vertical plane.
 It passes through the center of the body.
 It divides the body into equal right and left halves (Moore
et al., 2014).

SAGITTAL/PARAMEDIAN PLANES
 Are vertical planes passing through the body parallel to
the median plane (Moore et al., 2014).

Figure .2: Anatomical planes. The main planes of the body (Moore et al., 2014). 18
 CORONAL (FRONTAL) PLANE

 It is a vertical plane.
 It divides the body into:
 Anterior (front) and posterior (back) parts (Moore
et al., 2014).

Figure .2: Anatomical planes. The main planes of the body (Moore et al., 2014). 19
 TRANSVERSE (HORIZONTAL ) PLANE
 It is also called cross section.
 It divides the body into:
 Superior (upper) and inferior (lower) parts
(Moore et al., 2014).

Figure .2: Anatomical planes. The main planes of the body (Moore et al., 2014). 20
 CONCLUSION

Terms of relationship and comparison. These terms describe the position of one structure relative to another
(Moore et al., 2014).
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.
 REFERENCES

Goldman, J. M., Matthew, A. S., & Cooper, R. L. (2021). Orientation and directional terms.
Journal of clinical investigation, 80(2), 84-97. DOI:13.2478/ast-2019-0021

Miller, M. M., & Peters, S. M., Rathbun, R. C. (2015). The anatomical planes. Acta
anatomica, 8(4), 19-29. DOI:10.2478/ast-2020-0001

Moore, K. L., Dalley, A. F., & Agur, A. M. R. (2014). Clinically Oriented Anatomy (7th ed.,
pp. 382-390). Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Smith, R. A., Sow, P. S., Mathias, J. I. (2015). Descriptive anatomical terms. Anatomy Journal
of Africa, 12(4), 1-10. DOI:10.1016/S2352-3018(19)30196-1
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 REFERENCES CONT’D.

Solomon, F. J. (2022). Anatomical positions. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 360(2),

119-29. Doi:10.1186/1477-7827-10-49

Victor, M., Hill, A., Ford, N. P., Venter, F., Fisher R, C. W. (2018). Anatomical terms. New
England Journal of Medicine, 32(7), 1551-1561. Doi:10.1186/1477-7827-10-49

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