How many anatomical planes

Here we will see the anatomical terms and anatomical planes of these body cavities. The dorsal cavity is situated at the dorsal side of the body, and it occupies the upper central nervous system, such as the brain and spinal cord.

The meninges membrane within the dorsal cavity protects the brain and spinal cord. This cavity is located anteriorly to the dorsal cavity and houses the space inside the skull. This cranial cavity is occupied with the brain, meninges, and cerebrospinal fluid. This cavity is located interiorly in front of the body and a house of many different organ systems. Besides, this cavity is divided by the diaphragm into anterior and posterior portions. It looks like a sheet of skeletal muscles underneath the lungs and organs within this ventral cavity is known as viscera.

The posterior portion of the dorsal cavity within the vertebral column is known as the vertebral cavity. Among all body cavities, it is the narrower body cavity and seems like a thread. It is filled with the spinal cord, meninges of the spinal cord, and left space filled with fluid. The thoracic cavity is part of the anterior ventral body cavity situated in the torso within the rib cage. This cavity mainly includes the organs of the respiratory and cardiovascular system but also consists of the other system organs such as the thymus gland and esophagus.

A membrane lines the thoracic cavity called mesothelium; it has two types the pericardium lining of the heart and pleural lining of the lungs. A cavity which is located posteriorly to the ventral body cavity and found beneath the diaphragm and thoracic cavity. This cavity is divided into the pelvic and abdominal cavity, and it contains the organs of many systems such as renal and digestive systems.

Also, it has organs of endocrine systems such as adrenal glands. Anatomists divide the abdominopelvic cavity into smaller regions to facilitate the study of body planes. This anatomical abdominal region division is used to recognize the location of the abdomen organs and to diagnose abdominal pain. The commonly abdominopelvic region is divided into four quadrants and nine regions. Standardization is necessary to avoid confusion since most organisms can take on many different positions that may change the relative placement of organs.

Relative location in the anatomical position : Many terms are used to describe relative location on the body. Cranial refers to features closer to the head, while caudal refers to features closer to the feet. The front of the body is referred to as anterior or ventral, while the back is referred to as posterior or dorsal. Proximal and distal describe relative position on the limbs.

Medial and lateral refer to position relative to the midline, which is a vertical line drawn through the center of the forehead, down through the belly button to the floor. Medial indicates a feature is closer to this line, while lateral indicates features further from this line.

The standard anatomical position is agreed upon by the international medical community. In this position, a person is standing upright with the lower limbs together or slightly apart, feet flat on the floor and facing forward, upper limbs at the sides with the palms facing forward and thumbs pointing away from the body, and head and eyes directed straight ahead.

In addition, the arms are usually placed slightly apart from the body so that the hands do not touch the sides. The positions of the limbs, particularly the arms, have important implications for directional terms in those appendages. The basis for the standard anatomical position in humans comes from the supine position used for examining human cadavers during autopsies. Dissection of cadavers was one of the primary ways humans learned about anatomy throughout history, which has tremendously influenced the ways by which anatomical knowledge has developed into the scientific field of today.

Standard anatomical position : The regions of the body in standard anatomical position, in which the body is erect. In humans, the standard anatomical position of the skull is called the Frankfurt plane. In this position, the orbitales eye sockets , lower margins of the orbits, and the poria ear canal upper margins all lie in the same horizontal plane.

This orientation represents the position of the skull if the subject were standing upright and looking straight ahead. It is important to note that all anatomical descriptions are based on the standard anatomical position unless otherwise stated.

Positional terms give precise descriptions of anatomical relationships and allow for consistency when referencing anatomical positions. They allow a description of anatomical position by comparing location relative to other structures or within the rest of the body.

Standard anatomical terms for direction include:. Diagram of anatomical terms : Directional axes in a tetrapod. Regional directional terms include anterior and posterior, dorsal and ventral, and lateral and medial.

Regional terms describe anatomy by dividing the parts of the body into different regions that contain structures that are involved in similar functions. Two primary terms are used to describe the main regions of the body:. These are the two basic categories of regional terms; however, many other terms are used to describe smaller regions within the axial and appendicular regions. For example, the brachial region consists of the arm as a part of the appendicular region, while the abdominal region consists of the abdomen as a smaller part of the axial region.

The abdominal region is subdivided into even smaller regions based on different functions of groups of organs and tissues in that region. If a person is experiencing pain in one part of the abdominal region, then the smaller regional divisions can help determine the organs involved in the problem to better treat symptoms. Another method for describing region An axis uses a straight line between two parts of the body to describe a region of the body with linear direction.

For example, blood can be said to flow in a proximal or distal direction through a region marked by that axis.

The X, Y, and Z axes of the Cartesian coordinate system are used describe the specific location of an axis in standard anatomical position. Many types of axes can give regional direction. Any pair of corresponding directional terms can be combined to form an axis such as proximal-distal for an appendage. Axes give more clarity and detail for describing the location of an anatomical region.

They are commonly used in both zoology and human anatomy, and can be paired with body planes to give even more detail to anatomical direction, region, and location. There are three basic reference planes used in anatomy: the sagittal plane, the coronal plane, and the transverse plane.

Body planes are hypothetical geometric planes used to divide the body into sections. They are commonly used in both human and zoological anatomy to describe the location or direction of bodily structures. Reference planes are the standard planes used in anatomical terminology and include:. Be sure to subscribe to the Visible Body Blog for more anatomy awesomeness! Are you an instructor?

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Anatomy and Physiology: Anatomical Planes and Cavities. Here is a list of commonly used planes: Frontal Coronal plane Divides the body into anterior front and posterior back portions Transverse plane Divides the body into superior upper and inferior lower portions Sagittal plane Vertical plane that divides the body into right and left sides.

Midsagittal plane Divides the body at midline into equal right and left sides. Oblique plane Divides the body at an angle. Cavities: Because things need to be kept somewhere. Subscribe Here! Key Terms coronal plane : Any vertical plane that divides the body into anterior and posterior belly and back sections. What Are Body Planes? Reference planes are the standard planes used in anatomical terminology and include: The sagittal plane lateral or Y-Z plane divides the body into sinister and dexter left and right sides.

The midsagittal median plane is in the midline through the center of the body, and all other sagittal planes are parallel to it. The coronal plane frontal or Y-X plane divides the body into dorsal and ventral back and front portions. It also separates the anterior and posterior portions. The transverse plane axial or X-Z plane divides the body into superior and inferior head and tail portions.