Core Anatomy, Anatomical Position, and Directional Terms

• Abdominal Muscles:

  • Transverse Abdominis
  • Internal Abdominal Oblique
  • External Abdominal Oblique
  • Rectus Abdominis
• Planes of the Body:

  • Sagital Plane
  • Frontal Plane
  • Transverse Plane
• Anatomical Terms of Location:

  • Medial and Lateral
  • Anterior and Posterior
  • Superior and Inferior
  • Proximal and Distal
• Transverse Abdominis - Located under the oblique, it is the deepest of the abdominal muscles and wraps around your spine for protection and mobility
• Internal Abdominal Oblique - Located under the external obliques running in the opposite direction
• External Abdominal Oblique - Located on the side and front of the abdomen
• Rectus Abdominis - Located along the front of the abdomen, this is the most well-known abdominal. Often referred to as the “six pack”
• Sagital Plane - cuts the body into left and right halves. It is more on forward and backward movements
• Frontal Plane - Divides the body into the front and back or the anterior and the posterior side
• Transverse Plane - cuts the body into top and bottom halves
• Medial and Lateral - Imagine a line in the sagital plane, splitting the right and left halves evenly
• Medial means towards the midline. Lateral means away from the midline.
• The eye is lateral to the nose. The nose is medial to the ears.
• Anterior and Posterior - anterior refers to the ‘Front’, and posterior refers to the ‘back’.
• The heart is posterior to the sternum because it lies behind it. Equally, the sternum is anterior to the heart because it lies in front of it
• Superior and Inferior - these terms refer to the vertical axis, superior means ‘higher’, inferior means ‘lower’
• The head is superior to the neck; the umbilicus is inferior to the sternum.
• Proximal and Distal - Proximal means closer to its origin, distal means further away used in structures that are considered to have a beginning and an end.
• The Scaphoid lies in the proximal row of carpal bones
• 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
• Transverse Plane (Axial Plane) - a horizontal plane; divides the body or any of its parts into upper and lower parts
• The anatomical terms of location are vital to understanding and using anatomy. They help to avoid any ambiguity that can arise when describing the location of structures.
• The nose is superior to the mouth. The lungs are superior to the liver.
• The wrist joint is distal to the elbow joint. The knee joint is proximal to the ankle joint