ANATOMICAL PLANES• MEDIAN (Midsagittal) PLANE- Splitting

body into L and R sides

• FRONTAL PLANE – Splitting Body from Front to Back

• TRANSVERSE PLANE – Splitting Body from Lower to Upper

HUMAN ANATOMY TERMS• Superior - toward the head• Inferior - away from the head• Anterior - the front of the body or body part• Posterior - the back of the body or body part• Medial - toward the midline that divides left and right• Lateral - to the side away from the midline• Proximal - closer to the origin• Distal - farther away from the origin• Anatomical position - standing erect, facing the

observer, arms are at the sides with palms facing forward.

SUPERIOR – toward the head• SUPERIOR--means in the direction of the top of the

head or the top of the body. Saying "up" is often inaccurate because if a person is lying on their back, "up" is really anterior, so using the term "superior" is superior because it is always references towards the head's aspect of the anatomical part in question. The whole body or any part can be moved superiorly if it moves in the direction of the head.

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INFERIOR – away from head• INFERIOR--means in the direction of the soles of the

feet and situated below or directed downward. It can also refer to that part of the body or body part closest to the feet (such as "the inferior aspect of the chin"). The whole body can be moved inferiorly if it moves in the direction of the feet.

LATERAL – to the side away from the midline

• LATERAL--refers to the sides of the body. There is a left and right lateral (side) aspect to just about every anatomical part as well as the body in general. When the term lateral aspect is used it refers to that component of anatomy away from the midline of the trunk. When something moves laterally, it moves away from the midline.

MEDIAL -toward the midline that divides left

and right• MEDIAL--refers to the center or midline of the body

or body part. When an anatomical structure is said to be medial, it is more towards the midline of the torso. Often, the term, medial aspect, is used and that refers to that component of anatomy closest to the midline of the trunk. Something moves medially if it moves towards the midline.

ANTERIOR – the front of the body or body part

• ANTERIOR--means toward the front of the body. One can move a body part anteriorly by moving it towards the front of the body. A body part can have an anterior aspect, that being that component closest to the front of the body. From the word "ante" which refers to something "up front," before, or at the beginning, such as in antebellum (before the Civil War) or like what you do before you play a hand of "penny-"ante" poker. You put up a penny up front as a bet.

POSTERIOR – the back of the body or body part

• POSTERIOR--means toward the back surface or rear of the body, such as getting kicked in your "posterior." It can reference a part of the body in relation to another such as the vertebral bone parts that are closest to the back surface of the body are referred to as the posterior elements. One can also move a body part to the posterior by moving it towards the back surface of the body.

PROXIMAL – closer to the origin or torso

DISTAL – farther away from origin or torso