Terms of Planes, Positions, Directions, and Relationships

Terms of Planes Plane Sagittal Frontal or coronal Definition A vertical place dividing the body into left and right A vertical plan which passes from side to side and cuts the specimen into anterior and posterior components A horizontal plane at right angles to both the sagittal and the coronal planes; it cuts the specimen into superior and inferior portions.

Transverse, horizontal, or cross

Terms of Positions Position Anterior or ventral Description Toward the front of the body (belly side); volar or palmar side are used in referring to the hand Toward the back of the body In the direction of the head In the direction of the feet Nearer the surface; near to the outside of the body Away from the surface; within or towards the inside of the body Nearer the midline of the body Farther from the midline of the body; toward the side Nearest a point of origin in general or nearest the trunk as far as the extremities Farther from the point of the origin of a structure or farther from a reference point Toward the centre of the body; toward the inside Away from the centre of the body; toward the outside The sole of the foot

Posterior or dorsal Superior, caniad, or cephalad Inferior or caudad Superficial or external Deep or internal

Medial Lateral

Proximal

Distal

Central Peripheral

Plantar

Terms of Direction Direction Rostral Cranial Cephalic Caudal Description In the direction of the nose In the direction of the cranium In the direction of the head end of the body In the direction of the tail end of the body or away from the head end In the direction of the midline of a structure In the direction away from the midline of a structure

Mesad Lateral

Other Terms Term Invagination Evagination Description An inward bulging, depression, or pocketing An outward bulging (hernia) of an organ, etc. in a cavity or from a surface Referring to the same side of the body Referring to the opposite side of the body A muscles proximal attachment, or its fixed or less movable end The distal end; the less fixed or more movable end of a muscle attachment A cavity A smooth, rounded articular surface A flat, smooth area

Ipsilateral or Homolateral Contralateral Origin

Insertion

Antum Condyle Facet

Epicondyle Fossa Hamulus Hiatus Meatus Sinus Spine Sulcus Trochlea Tuberosity Foramen Fissure Crest

A prominence or ridge above an articular surface A shallow depression A hook-shaped process or eminence A slit or gap A canal A cavity in a bone A pointed process A groove A pulley mechanism A rough eminence, projection, or bump A hole in a bone A slit between bones A prominent, distinct area