Lutheran School of

Nursing

ANATOMICAL TERMINOLOGIES – BODY

STRUCTURE, PROCESS & BODY SYSTEM.
Learning outcomes
 Identify the body structure.
 Name the anatomical terminologies.
 Know the directional term.
 Identify the body planes.
 Know the body cavities.
Body structure
 Anatomy: Study of body structures
 Physiology: study of how body structures function
 Atoms: smallest unit of measure that participate in
chemical reaction
 Molecule: two or more atoms chemically bonded
together
 Cell: Basic structural & functional unit of all living
things
 Tissues: Groups of similar specialised cells that work
togather to perform a particular function
Anatomical Terminologies
Before we get into the following learning units, which
will provide more detailed discussion of topics on
different human body systems, it is necessary to
learn some useful terms for describing body
structure.
Knowing these terms will make it much easier for us
to understand the content of the following learning
units.
Three groups of terms are introduced here:
 Directional Terms
 Planes of the Body
 Body Cavities
Directional terms
Directional terms describe the positions of structures
relative to other structures or locations in the body.
 Superior or cranial - toward the head end of the
body; upper (example, the hand is part of the superior
extremity).
 Inferior or caudal - away from the head; lower
(example, the foot is part of the inferior extremity).
 Anterior or ventral - front (example, the kneecap is
located on the anterior side of the leg).
 Posterior or dorsal - back (example, the shoulder
blades are located on the posterior side of the body).
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 Medial - toward the midline of the body (example, the
middle toe is located at the medial side of the foot).
 Lateral - away from the midline of the body (example,
the little toe is located at the lateral side of the foot).
 Proximal - toward or nearest the trunk or the point of
origin of a part (example, the proximal end of the
femur joins with the pelvic bone).
 Distal - away from or farthest from the trunk or the
point or origin of a part (example, the hand is located
at the distal end of the forearm).
Planes of the body
 Coronal Plane (Frontal Plane) - A
vertical plane running from side to side;
divides the body or any of its parts into
anterior and posterior portions.
 Sagittal Plane (Lateral Plane) - A
vertical plane running from front to back;
divides the body or any of its parts into
right and left sides.
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 Axial Plane (Transverse Plane) - A
horizontal plane; divides the body or any of its
parts into upper and lower parts.
 Median plane - Sagittal plane through the
midline of the body; divides the body or any of
its parts into right and left halves.
Body planes
Body planes
Regional Terms – Anterior
 Abdominal – anterior trunk just below the ribs.
 Antecubital – area in front of the elbow.
 Axillary – arm pit
 Brachial – arm
 Buccal – check area
 Cephalic – head
 Cervical – neck region
 Cranial – nearer to the head
 Digital – fingers & toes
 Femoral – thigh area
Anterior Ventral view
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 Femoral – thigh area
 Inguinal – area where the thigh meets the trunk of the
body
 Oral – mouth
 Orbital – area around the eye
 Patellar – front of the knee
 Pedal – foot
 Pubic – genital region
 Sternal – middle of the chest (anterior)
 Umbilical – naval
Posterior Surface
 Caudal – nearer to the lower region of the spinal cord
column (near your tail bone)
 Deltoid – rounded area of the shoulder closest to the
upper arm
 Gluteal – buttocks
 Lumber – area of the back between the ribs and the
hips.
 Occipital – back of the head
 Popliteal – behind or back of the knee area
 Scapular – shoulder blade area
Posterior Dorsal
Body Regions – Anterior &
Posterior
Body cavities
 Thecavities, or spaces, of the body
contain the internal organs, or viscera.
 Thetwo main cavities are called the
ventral and dorsal cavities.
 Theventral is the larger cavity and is
subdivided into two parts (thoracic and
abdominopelvic cavities) by the
diaphragm, a dome-shaped respiratory
muscle.
Body cavities
Thoracic cavities
 Theupper ventral, thoracic, or chest
cavity contains the heart, lungs, trachea,
oesophagus, large blood vessels, and
nerves.
 The thoracic cavity is bound laterally by
the ribs (covered by costal pleura) and
the diaphragm caudally (covered by
diaphragmatic pleura).
Thoracic cavity
Abdominal & pelvic cavity
 The lower part of the ventral (abdominopelvic) cavity
can be further divided into two portions: abdominal
portion and pelvic portion.
 The abdominal cavity contains most of the
gastrointestinal tract as well as the kidneys and
adrenal glands.
 The abdominal cavity is bound cranially by the
diaphragm, laterally by the body wall, and caudally by
the pelvic cavity.
Abdominal cavity
Pelvic cavity
 The pelvic cavity contains most of the urogenital system as
well as the rectum.
 The pelvic cavity is bounded cranially by the abdominal
cavity, dorsally by the sacrum, and laterally by the pelvis.
 The pelvic cavity is the part of the abdominopelvic cavity
contained within the pelvic girdle or hip bones.
 The pelvic cavity starts at the level of the superior
boundary of the hip bones rather than at a particular organ.
 The pelvic cavity contains the ureters, the urinary bladder,
the distal colon, and the reproductive organs.
 These organs are part of the digestive, urinary, and
reproductive organ systems.
Pelvic cavity
Dorsal cavity
The smaller of the two main cavities is called the
dorsal cavity. As its name implies, it contains
organs lying more posterior in the body. The
dorsal cavity, again, can be divided into two
portions. The upper portion, or the cranial cavity,
houses the brain, and the lower portion, or
vertebral canal houses the spinal cord.
Dorsal cavity
Body cavity
Four quadrants & 9 regions
 Right hypochondriac.
 Right lumbar (or flank)
 Right illiac.
 Left illiac
 Epigastric.
 Umbilical.
 Hypogastric (or pubic)
 Left hypochondriac.
 Left lumbar (or flank)
Abdominal Cavity
Homeostasis
 The term homeostasis refers to the body's ability to
maintain a stable internal environment in response to
a changing external environment.
 Homeostasis is the composition of the internal
environment and is tightly controlled and constant.
 The term literally means 'unchanging'. Homeostasis is
maintained by control systems that detect and
respond to changes in the internal environment.
 There are negative and positive feedback mechanisms
in homeostasis.
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An example of homeostasis is maintenance of body
temperature - this is a negative feedback mechanism). When
body temperature falls below the pre-set level it is detected by
specialised temperature sensitive nerve endings. They
transmit this information to groups of cells in the hypothalamus
of the brain which forms the control centre. The control centre
then activates mechanisms that raise body temperature.
These include -
 Stimulation of skeletal muscles causing shivering
 Narrowing of the blood vessels in the skin reducing the blood
flow to, and heat loss from, the peripheries
 Behavioural changes - that is we put more clothes on or curl
up to keep warm
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 Most of the homeostatic controls in the body use negative feedback
mechanisms to prevent sudden and serious changes in the internal
environment.
 An example of positive feedback is blood clotting and uterine
contractions during labour.
 Positive feedback mechanisms progressively increase the response, so
as long as the stimulus is continued the response is progressively
amplified.
 Positive feedback mechanisms are mostly undesirable - for example
shock, haemorrhage, - as they often end in death despite best
intentions from health professionals.
Thank you very much