White Plains High School
Anatomy & Physiology I
Dr. Mettler
Laboratory Exercise: The Language of Anatomy
This exercise presents some of the most important anatomical terms you will be using through out this course. These terms deal with gross anatomy or structures that you can see with the naked eye.
Anatomical Position
In the anatomical position, the human body is erect, with the head and toes pointed forward and the arms at the sides with the palms facing forward.
Activity 1
Stand, and assume the anatomical position. Notice that it is not a comfortable position to be in because you must hold your hands in a forward position. What position is more comfartable for your hands?
Surface Anatomy
The body surface provide a number of visible land marks that can be used to study the body. Several of these are described on the following pages.
Activity 2
Identify and use anatomical terms to correctly label the following regions in Figure 1.1
Place the number of the term on the area indicated in Figure 1.1a (below left).
Figure 1.1a Figure 1b
Anterior Body Land Marks
- Abdominal: The anterior body trunk region inferior to the ribs
- Antecubital: The anterior surface of the elbow
- Axillary: The armpit
- Brachila: The arm
- Buccal: The cheek
- Carpal: The wrist
- Cervical: The neck region
- Coxal: The hip
- Deltoid: The round area on the superior margin of the shoulder shoulder
- Digital: The fingers or toes
- Femoral: The thigh
- Fibular: The lateral side of the leg
- Inguinal: The groin
- Mammary: The breast region
- Manus: The hand
- Nasal: The nose
- Oral: The mouth
- Orbital: The bony eye socket (orbit)
- Patellar: The anterior knnee region (knee cap)
- Pelvic: The pelvis region
- Pubic: The gential region
- Sternal: The breatbone region
- Tarsal: The ankle
- Thoracic: The chest
- Umbilical: The navel (belly button)
Activity 3
Using Figure 1.1b (above right), identify and label the following body parts .
Posterior Body Land Marks
- Cephalic: The head
- Gluteal: The buttocks
- Lumber: The area of the back between the ribs and the hips
- Occiptial: The posterior aspect of the head or base of the skull
- Popliteal: The back of the knee
- Sacral: the area between the hips
- Scapular: The scapula or shoulder blade
- Sural: The calf or posterior surface of the lower leg
- Vertebral: the spinal column area
Body Orientation and Direction
Study the terms below and refer to Figure 1.2. Notice as you read that certain term have a different meaning for a fourlegged animal than they do for the two legged human.
Med
Figure 1.2
Superior/inferior (above/below): These terms refer to the location of a structure along the long axis of the body. Superior structures are above other structures and inferior are below.
Anterior/posterior (front/back): In humans the most anterior structures arethose that are most forward-the face, chest and abdomine. Posterior structures are those towards the back side.
Medial/lateral (toward or away from the midline): Medial structures are thosecloser to the body midline than lateral structures.
The above terms are based on the anatomical position. The terms below are more precise in that they do not relate to a particular position.
Cephalad/ caudad (toward the head, toward the tail) : In humans these terms can be used instead of superior/ inferior. In four legged animals, they are synonyms for anterior/posterior.
Dorsal/Ventral (backside/bellyside): The term dorsal refers to the backside or animal’s back. The term ventral refersto the belly of the animal. In humans these terms are interchanable with anterior and posterior. In four legged animals they are interchangable with superior and inferior.
Proximal/distal (nearer to the trunk/farther from the trunk): These terms are used to locate areas along the body’s limbs or an elongated organ such as the intestine. For example, the wrist is distal to the elbow. The colon is di stal to the stomach.
Superficial/deep (toward or away from the body surface): These are used to describe an organs position relative to the body surface. For example, the skin is superficial to the skeletal muscles.
Activity 4
Using your own body, specify the relationship between each of the following structures.
- The wrist is ______to the hand.
- The trachea is ______to the spine.
- The brain is ______to the spinal cord.
- The kidneys are ______to the liver.
- The nose is ______to the cheeek bones.
- The chest is ______to the abdomen.
- The ears are ______to the nose.
- The naval is ______to the spine.
- The shoulder is ______to the elbow.
- The heart is ______to the lungs.
Body Planes and Sections
The body is three dimensional. To observe its internal parts, it often helps to make a section or a cut along an imaginary plane, There are three planes typically used and are illustrated in Figure 1.3. These planes lie at right angles to each other.
Figure 1.3
Sagittal plane: A plane that runs lengthwise or longitudunallydown the length
of the body, dividing it into left and right halves is a sagittal plane. If it divides the body into equal halves right down the midline, it is called a midsagittal section.
Frontal (coronal) plane: A longitudinal plane that divides the body or organ into anterior and posterior parts (front and back).
Transverse plane: A plane that runs horizontally, dividing the body into superior and inferior parts. Commonly called a cross section.
Oblique: This is a plan that is cut at an angle to the sagittal or frontal planes.
Activity 5
Go to the demonstration area and get pieces of clay. Roll the green piece flat and then roll the yellow cylinder of clay up with the green clay, as demonstrated by your teacher.
- Make a midline longitudinal cut (length wise) and draw how the two halves look below using colored pencils.
- Place the two halves back together and now make a transverse cut anyware through your clay log. Draw how the two opposing halves look below.
- Place the two halves back together and now make an oblique cut anyware through your clay log. Draw how the two opposing halves look below.
Body Cavities
The axial portion portion of the body id divided into two main cavities which are shown in figure 1.4 below.
Figure 1.4
Dorsal Body Cavity
The dorsal body cavity consists of the cranial and spinal cavities. The cranial cavity, with in the skull, contains the brain. The spinal cavity, which runsl within the bony vertebral column, contains the spinal cord. These two cavities are continuous with each other.
Ventral Body Cavity
The ventral body cavity is subdivided into two major cavities which each being further subdivided. The superior thoracic Cvity is separated from the rest of the ventral cavity by the muscular diaphragm. The heart and lungs are located in this cavity and are boarded laterally by the ribs. The cavity inferior to the diaphragm is the abdominalpelvic cavity. This is furhter divided into the abdominal cavity which contains the major organs of digestion including the liver, stomach and intestines. The pelvic cavity lies in the inferior part of this cavity and is boardered by thebony pelvis. It contains the organs of reproduction plus the bladder and rectum. This cavity points posteriorally from the abdominal cavity.
Abdominopelvic Quadrants and Regions
The abdominalpelvic cavity is quite large and contains many organs.. Typically the abdomine is divided into smaller quadrants for ease of examination. These are the right upper quadrant, right lower qluadrant, left upper quadrant and left lower quadrant. (Figure 5a)
Figure 5a
Tenderness in any of these regions can be used in diagnosing various conditions. For example, tenderness to the right lower quadrant can be an indicator of appendicitis. Tenderness to the upper right quadrant can indicate a possible problem with the gall bladder.
Another scheme used by anatomists divides the abdominal surface up into nine separate regions divided by four planes as shown in figure 5b.
Figure 5b
Umbilical region: The centermost region, which includes the umbilicus.
Epigastric region: Just superior to the umbilical region. It overlies most of the stomach.
Hypogastric region: Just inferior to the umbilical region. It contains the pubic area.
Iliac regions (left & right): Lateral to the hypogastric region, they overlie the superior part of the pelvis.
Lumbar regions (left & right): Lateral to the umbilical region, they lie between the ribs and the flaring portion of the pelvis.
Hypochondriac regions (left & right): Lateral to the epigastric region, they overlie the lower ribs.
Activity 6
Draw the nine quadrants on the diagram below. Label each one and then identify one major organ found in that region. Place your answers in the table below.
Quadrant / OrganAnalysis
Surface Anatomy
- Match each of the following descriptions with a key term, and record them in front of the description.
BrachialCarpalDeltoidPatellar
BuccalCervicalDigitalScapular
______A. Cheek
______B. Refers to the fingers
______C. Shoulder blade
______D. Wrist area
______E. Anterior portion of the knee
______F. Referring to the arm
______G. Curve of the shoulder
______H. Referring to the neck
Body Orientation, Direction, Planes & Sections
- Several incomplete statements are listed below. Correctly complete each statement by choosing the appropriate anatomical term from the key. Record the key terms on the corresponding numbered blanks below.
AnteriorInferiorPosteriorSuperior
DistalLateralProximalTransverse
FrontalMedialSagittal
In the anatomical position, the umbilicus and knees are on the ___1____ body surface; the calves and shoulder blades are on the ___2____body surface; and the soles obshoulders and __5__to the nose. The breast bone is __6__ to the vertebral column __7__to the shoulders. The elbow is __8__ to the shoulder but is __9__to the fingers. The thoracic cavity is __10__to the abdominopelvic cavity and __11__to the spinal cavity. In humans, the ventral surface can also be called the __12__ surface; however in quadruped animals, the ventral surface is the __13__ surface.
If an incision cuts the brain into superior and inferior parts, the section is a __14__ section; but if the brain is cut so that the anterior and posterior portions result, the section is a __15__section. You are told to cut a dissection animal along two planes so that the lungs are observable in both sections. The two sections that meet this requirement are the __16__ and __17__ sections.
1 / 6 / 122 / 7 / 13
3 / 8 / 14
4 / 9 / 15
4 / 10 / 16
5 / 11 / 17
- Correctly identify each of the body planes by placing the appropriate term for each below the drawing.
1.______2.______3. ______
Body Cavities
- Which body cavity would have to be opened for the following types of surgery? Insert the term in the adjacent blank.
Abdominopelvic DorsalThoracic
CranialSpinalVentral
A. Surgery to remove a cancerous lung ______
- Removal of an ovary ______
- Surgery to remove a ruptured disk ______
- Appendectomy______
- Removal of the gallbladder______
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