Directional terms and Anatomical Planes

• a vertical plane dividing the body into anterior (front) and posterior (back)portions.


  frontal or coronal plane
• is a horizontal plane that divides the body into right and left halves at the body's midpoint.


  midsagittal plane
• is a vertical plane that passes from front to back, dividing the body into right sides.

  sagittal plane
• is a horizontal (cross-section) plane, parallel to the ground and through the waistline, dividing the body into upper and lower halves.

  transverse plane
• head or upward

  cephalad
• above


  superior
• tail or downward


  caudal
• below


  inferior
• side of the body reffered to


  lateral
• middle of the body referred to 


  medial
• away from the point of origin


  distal
• nearest to the point of origin

  proximal
• Around the ears 


  auricular region
• Axillae (armpits)


  axillary
• Cheeks of the face


  buccal
• Wrist 


  carpal
• Neck 


  cervical
• On each side of the suprastemal notch (small dip at top of the sternum)


  clavicular
• Below the eyes


  infraorbital
• On each side of the chest, down to the last rib


  infrascapular
• On the back, between scapulae (shoulder blades)


  interscapular
• Below the infrascapular area


  lumbar
• Breast area

  mammary
• Region of the chin

  mental
• Nose

  nasal
• Lower posterior head

  occipital
• Around the eyes

  orbital
• Chest

  pectoral
• Behind the knee

  popliteal
• Below the hypogastric region (above the pubis)

  pubic
• Area over the sacrum

  sacral
• Over the sternum

  sternal
• below the chin

  submental
• above the clavicles


  supraclavicular
• five regions of spinal column

  cervical region (C1 to C7)

  thoracic or chest region (T1 to T12)

  lumbar region (L1 to L5)

  sacral region (S1 to S5)

  coccygeal region