ANATOMICAL POSITION SKIN
The skin is superficial relative to the surface of the heart, and the surface of the heart is superficial relative to the heart valves. In this regard, we use the term " superficial" to refer to structures closer to the outside of the body and " deep" to refer to structures closer to the interior. One other set of terms, however, is important so that we are able to refer to parts of the body at different surface levels. The above three sets of terms are the ones most commonly used to orient the body in space and to identify and orient different parts of the body relative to one another. Again, these terms are relational, so that the pinkie finger is anterior relative to the tail bone but posterior relative to the belly button (by the way, you will learn the anatomical names for the pinkie finger, belly button, and tail bone in this course). The belly button is anterior to the tailbone. " Anterior" refers to things toward the front of the body, and " posterior" refers to things toward the back of the body. But what if you want to describe the position of structures in the "z" direction, i.e., front to back? For that purpose, we can use the terms anterior and posterior. So far, I have described relational terms that can be used to describe the relationship between structures in the "x" and "y" directions (up and down and side to side). As with superior and inferior, these terms are relational, so that the pinkie finger, for instance, is medial relative to the thumb, but lateral relative to the belly button, which is in the midline of the body. Medially-placed structures are closer to the midline of the body, whereas those that are laterally placed are away from the midline, again in anatomical position. Medial and lateral, for example, describe the relationship between structures relative to the midline of the body. "Superior" and "inferior" are terms that use anatomical position to describe the relationship between structures in the body. "Inferior" is not a property of the intestines-the intestines are inferior to some structures, like the brain or structures in the head and neck, but superior relative to other structures in the hip, thigh, leg, and foot.
It is important at this point to realize that these terms are relational, not exact. As noted above, the brain is superior to the intestines. " Superior" is up, and " inferior" is down when you are standing in anatomical position. Let's start with two terms that I have already introduced, superior and inferior. Now that I have introduced anatomical position, we can talk about some of the directional terms that relate to this position. You just have to imagine yourself in anatomical position.Īnatomical terminology schematic Human Anatomy Directional Terms In anatomical position, your brain is indeed superior to your intestines, and your intestines are superior to your feet. It is the same system followed in baseball: if you are the catcher, when you face the diamond, right field is to your right, and left field is to your left. "Right" and "left" are in relation to this body so, if you are standing in an anatomical position, your liver is on "your" right. So, we can immediately answer a few of the above questions. All directional terms are oriented relative to the body in this position. Imagine you are standing straight up, eyes and feet facing forward, with your arms at your sides and your palms facing forward. The orientation of structures in the body is based on anatomical position. For example, if I say to you, "your liver is on the right," what do I mean? Is that "your" right? Or "my" right? What does it mean if I say "your brain is above your intestines," but you are lying down? And how do we refer to structures that are inside other structures, structures in the feet or hands, or the position of teeth in the tooth row? Obviously, we need to have a common language to discuss these issues. This is not as trivial a matter as it might at first seem.
ANATOMICAL POSITION HOW TO
Anatomical structures are positioned in particular relations with one another, and we need to know how to discuss this.
The first thing we need to do is to develop a language that we can use to talk to one another.
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