Atlas A: General Orientation to Human Anatomy

1. Anatomical Position

• Person stands erect
• Feet flat on the floor
• Arms at sides
• Palms, eyes & face facing foward
• Standard frame of reference for anatomical descriptions & dissection

Atlas A: General Orientation to Human Anatomy

1. Anatomical Position

Supine Vs. Prone

• Supine: Palm up or facing foward. Lying face up. Radius and ulna parallel.
• Prone: Palm down or facing to the rear. Lying face down. Radius and ulna are crossed.

Atlas A: General Orientation to Human Anatomy

II. Anatomical Planes and Sections

• Planes: Are imaginary flat surfaces passing through the body
• Sections are anatomical views if body is cut on a plane
• Sagittal plane: Divides body into right and left halves
• Median plane creates equal halves
• Frontal (coronal) plane: Divides body into front & back portions (ventral & dorsal portions or anterior and posterior portions)
• Transverse (horizontal) plane: Divides the body into upper & lower portions (superior and inferior portions)

Atlas A: General Orientation to Human Anatomy

III. Directional Terms

• Ventral: toward the front or belly
• Dorsal: toward the back or spine
• Anterior: toward the ventral side
• Posterior: toward the dorsal side
• Superior: toward the head or upper part of structure. Above.
• Inferior: away from the head or the lower part of a structure. Below.

Atlas A: General Orientation to Human Anatomy

III. Directional Terms

• Medial: nearer to midline
• Lateral: farther/away from midline
• Proximal: nearer to point of attachment of a limb to trunk; nearer to point of origin
• Distal: farther from point of attachment of a limb to trunk; farther from point of origin
• Superficial: toward/closer to/on body surface
• Deep: away/farther from body surface

Atlas A: General Orientation to Human Anatomy

• IV. Body Regions

• AXIAL REGION
• Head
• Neck (cervical)
• Trunk
• Thoracic region
• Abdominal region
• APPENDICULAR REGION
• Consists of the appendages/limbs/extremities
• Upper limbs
• Lower limbs