This document defines anatomical terms used to describe locations, planes, axes, and movements of the body. Key terms include: - Superior/inferior, medial/lateral, anterior/posterior to describe locations relative to body structures or midline. - Sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes which divide the body into sections. - Flexion, extension, abduction, adduction to describe basic joint movements. - Special movements like dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, inversion, eversion for the foot, and pronation, supination for the forearm.

1. MOVEMENTS
Lesson 6

2. Anatomical Locations

3. Superior
• Refers to something that is above
or higher than another structure
• (e.g., your head is superior to
your chest).

4. Inferior
• Something is below or
lower than another
structure
• (.g., your chest is inferior
to your head)

5. Lateral
• Refers to something
farther away from the
midline of the body than
another structure
• (e.g., your arms are lateral
to your spinal column)

6. Medial
• It means a structure is closer to
the midline of your body than
another structure
• (e.g., your nose is medial to
your ears)

7. Anterior
• refers to structure that is in
front of another structure
• (e.g., your abdomen is
anterior to your spinal
column)

8. Posterior
• Refers to structure that is
behind another structure
• (e.g., your spinal column is
posterior to your abdomen)

9. Proximal (close) and Distal (far)
• This term is usually used in reference to structures of the extremities
(arms and legs)
• Proximal- means closer to the trunk
• Distal- means farther from the trunk
• (e.g., your knee is proximal to your ankle, and your hand is distal to
your wrist)

10. Dorsal, Volar and Plantar
• Dorsal – indicates the top side of a structure (the dorsal aspect of
your hand is commonly called the back of your hand)
• Volar – refers to the down side, or bottom aspect of a structure. (the
volar aspect of your wrist or hand is also referred to as the palmar
aspect, whereas the volar aspect or sole, of the foot is referred to as
the plantar aspect)

11. Pronation and Supination
• Pronation – refers to the turning of the forearm from the anatomical
position towards the body, resulting in the volar or palmar surface of
the hand facing the body. Turning your foot downward and inward
towards the other foot is referred to as pronation of the foot.
• Supination – the reverse of pronation, refers to turning the forearm
outward from the pronated position and to the upward and outward
movement of the foot away from the other foot.

12. Planes and Axes
• Plane – (a flat surface)
• Axis – (a straight line around which
an object rotates)

14. • Sagittal Planes – (also known as the anteroposterior) passes from the
front through the back of the body, creating a left side and right side
of the body.
• Cardinal sagittal plane – the term cardinal refers to the plane that
divides the body into equal segments, with exactly one half of the
body on either side of the cardinal plane. Therefore the cardinal
sagittal plane divides the body into two equal halves on the left and
right. The term cardinal plane appears in some text as the principal
plane. The term are interchangeable.

15. • Horizontal Plane – (also known as the transverse plane) passes
through the body horizontally to create top and bottom segments of
the body.
• Cardinal Horizontal Plane- divide the body into equal top and bottom
halves.
• Frontal Plane – (also known as the lateral plane) passes from one side
of the body to the other, creating a front side and back side of the
body
• Cardinal frontal plane – which divides the body into equal front and
back halves.

17. Fundamental Movements

18. A vertical plane of a body
which passes from front to
rear dividing the body into
two symmetrical halves.
A sagittal plane is an
anatomical plane which
divides the body into right
and left parts.

19. Types of Ordinary Body
Movements
►Flexion
 Decreases the angle of the joint
 Brings two bones closer together
 Typical of hinge joints like knee and elbow
►Extension
 Opposite of flexion
 Increases angle between two bones

20. Types of Ordinary Body
Movements

21. Types of Ordinary Body
Movements
Hyperextension: results
when angle is > 180 ̊

22. Plane of the body which
passes from side to side
at right angles to the
sagittal plane is called
frontal plane or coronal
plane.
A coronal plane (also
known as the frontal plane)
is any vertical plane that
divides the body into
ventral and dorsal (belly
and back) sections.

23. Types of Ordinary Body Movements
►Abduction
 Movement of a limb
away from the midline
►Adduction
 Opposite of abduction
 Movement of a limb
toward the midline

24. Types of Ordinary Body Movements
►Circumduction
 Combination of flexion,
extension, abduction,
and adduction
 Common in ball-and-
socket joints

25. Any horizontal plane of a body which
is parallel to diaphragm is called
transverse plane or horizontal plane.
The transverse plane (also called the
horizontal plane, axial plane, or trans
axial plane) is an imaginary plane
that divides the body into superior
and inferior parts. It is perpendicular
to the coronal and sagittal planes.

26. Types of Ordinary Body Movements
►Rotation
 Movement of a bone
around its longitudinal
axis
 Common in ball-and-
socket joints
 Example is when you
move atlas around the
axis vertebra (shake
your head “no”)

27. • For describing movement in the upper (arm) and lower(leg)
extremities, the terms external rotation and internal
rotation are often used.
External rotation (lateral rotation) – when the anterior (front)
surface of the arm or leg rotates laterally (away from the
midline of the body).
Internal rotation (medial rotation) – when the anterior
surface of the arm or leg rotates medially (toward the midline
of the body).

28. Special Movements
►Dorsiflexion
 Lifting the foot so that
the superior surface
approaches the shin
►Plantar flexion
 Depressing the foot
(pointing the toes)

29. Special Movements
►Inversion
 Turn sole of foot
medially
►Eversion
 Turn sole of foot
laterally

30. Special Movements
►Supination
 Forearm rotates laterally so palm faces up (anterior)
►Pronation
 Forearm rotates medially so palm faces down (posterior)

31. Special Movements
►Opposition
 Move thumb to touch the tips of other fingers on the
same hand

32. THANK YOU!