This document defines key anatomical terms and concepts. It begins by defining anatomy and introducing anatomical positions and planes. It describes standard anatomical terms like superior, inferior, anterior, and posterior. It then explains the major body cavities including the dorsal, ventral, thoracic, and abdominopelvic cavities. It concludes by defining the international standard anatomical position used as a reference for describing human body structures.

1. Ruchita Bhavsar
1st sem B. Pharm

2.  Introduction to Anatomy
 Definition
 Introduction to Anatomical Terms
 Anatomical Positions
 Anatomical Planes
 Body Cavities
 Summary
 Reference

3.  Human anatomical terms make up a distinct
nomenclature to describe areas of the body, to provide
orientation when describing parts of human anatomy,
and to distinguish different movements of the body.
An understanding of these terms is necessary to study
the human body in depth. Many of these terms are
also applicable in animal anatomy (zootomy).

4.  Anatomy is the study of the structure of the human
body
 Anatomic terms describe the directions within the
body as well as the body’s reference positions, planes
and cavities.

5.  Anatomists use specific terms to indicate visible areas
of the body.
 The cephalon or cephalic region refers to the head.
 This area is further differentiated into the cranium
(skull), facies (face), frons (forehead), oculus (eye
area), auris (ear), bucca (cheek), nausus (nose), oris
(mouth), and mentis (chin).
 The neck area is called the cervicis or cervical region.

7. superior - closer to the head
Inferior - closer to the feet
reference point - horizontal plane
posterior (dorsal) - closer to the posterior surface of the body
anterior (ventral) - closer to the anterior surface of the body
reference point - frontal or coronal plane
medial - lying closer to the midline
lateral - lying further away from the midline
reference point - sagittal plane
proximal - closer to the origin of a structure
distal - further away from the origin of a structure
reference point - the origin of a structure

9.  The three basic planes intersect at right angles to each other.
When the three basic planes intersect in the center of the
body (as seen in the image to the right) they can be used to
describe various relationships within the body.
 Main Reference Planes :-
i. Sagittal Plane
ii. Coronal Plane
iii. Transverse Plane
iv. Oblique Plane

10. i. Sagittal plane (median, wheel) — this vertical (top to
bottom) plane divides the body into left and right sides; a
plane that divides the body down the middle into equal
left and right sides is the Median Sagittal Plane.
ii. Coronal plane (vertical, frontal, door) — a vertical
plane that divides the body into front (anterior or
ventral) and back (posterior or dorsal)
iii. Transverse plane (horizontal, table) — this horizontal
plane is parallel to the ground and divides the body into
up (toward the head) and down (toward the feet)
iv. Oblique plane is not shown; it is a slanted plane (at an
angle) that lies between the horizontal and vertical
planes.

14.  Body cavities are areas in the body
that contain our internal organs.
 The dorsal and ventral cavities are
the two main cavities.
 The dorsal cavity is on the
posterior (back side) of the body
and contains the cranial cavity
and spinal cavity.
 The ventral cavity is on the front
(anterior) of the body and is
divided into the thoracic cavity
(chest) and abdominopelvic
cavity.

15.  The dorsal cavity is further divided into sub cavities:
1. Cranial Cavity
2. Vertebral Cavity
 Cranial cavity (also called the calvaria) which
surrounds and holds the brain
 Vertebral cavity (also called the spinal cavity) which
includes the vertebrae (spinal column) and spinal
cord.

16.  The ventral cavity is on the front of the trunk. The
diaphragm (the main muscle of breathing) divides the
ventral cavity into two simple sub cavities:
1. Thoracic Cavity
2. Abdominopelvic Cavity
 Thoracic cavity which is surrounded by the ribs and chest
muscles is superior to the diaphragm and abdominopelvic
cavity. It is further divided into the pleural cavities (left and
right) which contain the lungs, bronchi, mediastinum
which contains heart, pericardial membranes, large vessels
of the heart, trachea, upper esophagus, thymus gland,
lymph nodes, blood vessels and nerves.

17.  Abdominopelvic cavity is divided into the abdominal cavity
and pelvic cavity. The abdominal cavity is between the
diaphragm and the pelvis. It is lined with a membrane and
contains the stomach, lower part of the esophagus, small
intestine,large intestine, spleen, liver, gallbladder, pancreas
adrenal glands, kidneys and ureters. The pelvic cavity
contains the bladder, some reproductive organs and the
rectum.

18.  oral cavity – the space in the mouth inside the teeth
and gums and is filled with the tongue when it is
relaxed.
 nasal cavity – in the nose
 orbital cavities (left and right) – hold the eyes
 middle ear cavities (left and right) – hold the small
bones of the middle ear
 synovial cavities – are inside the joint capsules that
surround freely moving joints (such as the hip, knee,
elbow, and shoulder)

19.  The international standard anatomical position is the
position that provides a reference point for describing
the structures of the human body. In this position, the
body is standing erect with good posture and the face
is looking directly forward. The feet are about six
inches apart, flat on the floor and the toes pointing
forward. The arms are down at the sides with the
palms turned forward and thumbs pointing away from
the body. When the body is lying face down in the
anatomical position, this is called the prone position.
When the body is lying face up, this is called the
supine position.

20.  Elements of Human Anatomy, Physiology & Health
Education - by Dr. R. K. Goyal
 Human Anatomy and Physiology for Pharmacy – by
Prof. A. K. Jain