Anatomical PositionAnatomical Position

position used to identify human anatomythis position includes:

standing straightfeet shoulder width apartelbows straightpalms facing forward

Anatomical TerminologyAnterior & Posterior Medial & LateralSuperior & InferiorDistal & ProximalDeep & SuperficialSupine & ProneDorsal & Ventral

Anatomical TerminologyAnterior

in front ofPosterior

in back of, behindMedial

towards the inside, midline of bodyLateral

towards the outside, away from midline of body

Anatomical TerminologySuperior

towards the top or headInferior

towards the bottom or feetDistal

away from the main body or point of referenceProximal

towards the main body or point of reference

Anatomical TerminologyDeep

away from the surfaceSuperficial

towards the surfaceSupine

laying on your back, stomach facing upProne

laying on your stomach, back facing up

Anatomical TerminologyDorsal

the back sideVentral

the stomach side

Movement TerminologyFlexion & ExtensionAbduction & AdductionRotationSupination & PronationFoot Movements ONLY:

dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, inversion, eversion

Movement TerminologyFlexion

brings two bones closer together, decreasing the joint angle

Extensionopposite of flexionmoving two bones away from each other,

increasing the joint angle & distance between bones

if extension is > 180° = hyperextension

Movement TerminologyAbduction (ABD)

moving an extremity away from the midline of the body, also refers to the fanning of the fingers/toes

Adduction (ADD)opposite of abductionmoving an extremity towards the midline of

the body“add” to the body

Movement TerminologyRotation

movement of a bone around an axisa direction is usually given with this

movementinternal rotation (IR) = rotating inward

also called medial rotationexternal rotation (ER) = rotating outward

also called lateral rotation

Movement TerminologySupination

moving the palm from an posterior, down facing position to a anterior, up facing position

“hold a bowl of soup”Pronation

moving the palm from an anterior, up facing position to a posterior, down facing position

“pour out the soup”

Movement TerminologyFoot Movements ONLY:

dorsiflexionmoving your foot towards the shin“standing on your heels”

plantarflexionpointing the toes downward“standing on your toes”

inversionturning the sole of your foot medially

eversionturning the sole of your foot laterally