Anatomical Terms

Anatomical Directions

The picture on the right is of a person standing in the anatomical positionA standard reference position where the body stands upright, facing forward, with arms at the sides.  This position is the position in which you have to always see your patient. You must see their body as though they are standing, even if they are lying on a gurney in a contorted shape. Visualize them in this anatomical position. in that way, this anatomical position ensures the usage of any of these directional terms when referring to a patient.  This anatomical position allows a common reference to a patient, even when the patient is not physically before you.   The anatomical position is defined as a patient standing facing forward. Their feet are together, arms lowered to their sides, with palms and face facing forward. 

Anatomical directions are important for communication.  You are expected to use anatomical directions to refer to places on the body.  You might want to say words like up. You might say down, to the side, in the middle, or other casual phrases. However, we have to start getting used to using these terms here. These terms are all paired with a complementary term. The term superiorAbove or toward the upper part of the body. means up and is paired with the term inferiorBelow or toward the lower part of the body. which means down. Other paired terms such as lateralAway from the midline of the body. and medialToward the midline of the body or anteriorThe front of the body or toward the front when standing in the anatomical position. and posterior are pretty simple to remember. Anterior and posterior have alternate words associated with those directions. When we refer to the nervous systemThe organ system that controls body functions using electrical and chemical signals., we will start to use the terms dorsalRelating to the back side of the body. for posterior. We will use ventralRelating to the front or belly side of the body. in place of anterior when talking about the spinal cordThe central nervous system structure that relays signals between the brain and body.. Up until that point you are welcome to use the more commonly used anterior posterior pairing. A great source of confusion for students is the difference between using the terms proximalCloser to the point of attachment or origin. and distal and superior inferior. The terms proximal and distal are generally used when referring to a limb. In the anatomical position arms are held out to the side in an diagonal orientation. The elbow is definitely superior to the wrist. However, it is more appropriate to say that the elbow is proximal to the wrist. Alternatively, the wrist is distal to the elbow.  This picture does not show one last pairing of terms: deepAway from the surface of the body. and superficialNear the surface of the body..  Superficial means “to the outside” whereas deep means “to the inside.”  Your integumentary systemThe body system that includes the skin, hair, nails, and associated glands., of which skinThe body’s largest organ, providing protection and regulation. is the major organ, is superficial to all other organs.  All other organs are deep to the integumentary system.

Regional Terms

It is it is definitely overwhelming to try to intake all of these new terms all at once. First, highlight or cross off the things you already know. Identifying familiar elements helps manage complexity. You may already know that the word gluteal refers to buttock. You may already know that the word digits refers to fingers. You will come to know that the word olecranal refers to the back of the elbow. Additionally, the word acromion refers to the shoulder. It’s useful to refer back to this picture from time to time. Doing so helps you see if you’ve added any newly learned terms to your vocabulary of anatomical regional terms.