Anatomical Terms
- Anterior or ventral: Toward the front of the body
- Posterior or dorsal: Toward the back of the body
- Superior: A part above another part
- Inferior: A part below another part
- Medial: Toward the midline (median plane) of the body
- Lateral: Away from the midline of the body; toward the sides
- Proximal: Toward the point of attachment to the body
- Distal: Away from the point of attachment to the body
- Deep: Toward the inside of the body
- Superficial: Toward the outside of the body
- Parietal: A membrane that covers an internal body wall
- Visceral: A membrane that covers an organ
Anatomical Planes of the Body
sagittal: The plane that runs down through the body, dividing the body into left and right portions. Subsections of the sagittal plane include
Midsagittal: Runs through the median plane and divides along the line of symmetry
Parasagittal: Parallel to the midline but does not divide into equal left and right portions
Frontal (coronal): The plane that runs perpendicular to the sagittal plane and divides the body into anterior (front) and posterior (back) portions
Transverse: Horizontal plane that divides the body into upper and lower portions; also called cross-section
Anatomical Body Cavities
Dorsal cavity: Bones of the cranial portion of the skull and vertebral column, toward the posterior (dorsal) side of the body
Cranial cavity: Contains the brain
Spinal cavity: Contains the spinal cord, which is an extension of the brain
Ventral cavity: Anterior portion of the torso; divided by the diaphragm into the thoracic cavity and abdominopelvic cavity
Thoracic cavity: The chest; contains the trachea, bronchi, lungs, esophagus, heart and great blood vessels, thymus gland, lymph nodes, and nerve,. as well as the following smaller cavities:
Pleural cavities: Surround each lung
Pericardial cavity: Contains the heart. The pleural cavities flank the pericardial cavity.
Abdominopelvic cavity: An imaginary line running across the hipbones and dividing the body into the abdominal and pelvic cavities:
Abdominal cavity: Contains the stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, small intestines, and most of the large intestine
Pelvic cavity: Contains the end of the large intestine, rectum, urinary bladder, and internal reproductive organs
