Lecture 1: The Essential Language of Anatomy

Question 1

Standard Anatomical Position (SAP)

Answer 1

standing up, facing forward, feet slightly apart, palms facing forward

Question 2

superior (relative to _______)

Answer 2

closer to the top in SAP (relative to inferior) … literally: up

Question 3

inferior (relative to _______)

Answer 3

closer to the bottom in SAP (relative to superior) … literally: down

Question 4

anterior (opposite of _______)

Answer 4

part of body facing forward motion (opposite of posterior) … literally: in the direction an animal moves

Question 5

posterior (opposite of _______)

Answer 5

part of body facing away from forward motion (opposite of anterior) … literally: opposite direction of movement

Question 6

cranial (relative to _______)

Answer 6

also referred to as Cephalic … closer to the head … pertains to the trunk of the body (relative to caudal) … literally: the head end

Question 7

caudal (relative to _______)

Answer 7

closer to the tailbone … pertains to the trunk of the body (relative to cranial/cephalic) … literally: toward the the tail end

Question 8

dorsal (opposite of _______)

Answer 8

spine side of the body (opposite of ventral)

Question 9

ventral (opposite of _______)

Answer 9

belly side of the body (opposite of dorsal)

Question 10

median

Answer 10

midline of the body

Question 11

medial (relative to _______)

Answer 11

closer to the median of the body (relative to lateral) … literally: closer to the midline of the body

Question 12

lateral (relative to _______)

Answer 12

closer to the side of the body (relative to medial) … literally: toward the side of the body

Question 13

ipsilateral (opposite of _______)

Answer 13

literally: on the same side of the body (opposite of contralateral)

Question 14

contralateral (opposite of _______)

Answer 14

literally: on opposite sides of the body (opposite of ipsilateral)

Question 15

intermediate

Answer 15

between two objects

Question 16

superficial (relative to _______)

Answer 16

literally: closer to the body’s surface (relative to deep)

Question 17

deep (relative to _______)

Answer 17

… literally: farther from the the body’s surface (relative to superficial)

Question 18

proximal (relative to _______)

Answer 18

closer on a limb to the shoulder or hips, or sometimes used for other structures that have an origin (relative to distal) … literally: closer to the origin of a structure

Question 19

distal (relative to _______)

Answer 19

closer on a limb to the digits, or sometimes used for other structures that have an origin (relative to proximal) … literally: farther away from the origin of a structure

Question 20

supine (opposite of _______)

Answer 20

lying down face up (opposite of prone)

Question 21

prone (opposite of _______)

Answer 21

lying down face down (relative to supine)

Question 22

lateral view (opposite of ______)

Answer 22

view of the body from the side (opposite of anterior view)

Question 23

anterior view (opposite of _______)

Answer 23

view of the body from the front or back (opposite of lateral view)

Question 24

sagital plane

Answer 24

in SAP, a vertical cut that divides the body into right and left halves … can also be used on organs

Question 25

midsagittal plane

Answer 25

in SAP,a vertical cut directly on the midline that divides the body cut of the body or one of its structures into right and left halves

Question 26

parasagittal plane

Answer 26

in SAP, a vertical cut not on the midline that divides the body cut of the body or one of its structures into right and left halves

Question 27

coronal plane

Answer 27

sometimes called a frontal plane … in SAP, a vertical cut that divides the body, a region of the body cut of the body or one of its structures into anterior and posterior, separating the front from the back.

Question 28

horizontal plane

Answer 28

sometimes called a transverse plane or axial plane … in SAP, a cut that divides the body or one of its structures into superior and inferior regions

Question 29

oblique plane

Answer 29

in SAP, a diagonal cut of the body or one of its structures