INTRODUCTION

TO human anatomy
for 2 yr nursing
nd

students.
By : kewser . A(Bsc IN PHO)
Definition of Anatomy

 Anatomy is the study of all the structures that

make up the human body and their relation to
each other .
 The term 'Anatomy' is derived from the Greek
word 'temnein' meaning 'to cut‘
 Human anatomy was taught in Greece by
Hippocrates (460 - 377 B.C.E.), who is regarded
as the Father of Medicine and a founder of the
science of anatomy
 Anatomy = Dissection
 The study of anatomy includes many sub specialties. these
are
 gross anatomy
 microscopic anatomy
 developmental anatomy and
 embryology
The Anatomical position

Refers to the body position as if

 The person were standing upright
 Head, eyes, and toes directed forward
 Arms adjacent to the sides with the
palms facing anteriorly
 Lower limbs close together with the
feet parallel
 Without such a frame of reference, to say that a
structure such as the sternum is “above the heart”
would be vague, since it would depend on
whether the subject was standing, lying face
down, or lying face up.
Anatomical Position.
The feet are flat on the floor and
close together, the arms are held
downward and facing anteriorly and
the face is directed forward.
 Bear in mind that if a subject is facing you in
anatomical position,
 The subject’s left will be on your right and vice
versa.
 In most anatomical illustrations, for example, the
heart appears toward the right side of the page
Anatomical Planes

 Many views of the body are based on real or

imaginary “slices” called sections or planes.
 The three major anatomical planes are

1) sagittal,
2) frontal, and
3) transverse
1) A sagittal plane - passes vertically through
the body or an organ and divides it into right and
left portions.mid and para sagittal plane.
 The sagittal plane that divides the body or organ
into equal haves is also called the median
(midsagittal) plane.
 The head and pelvic organs are commonly
illustrated on the median plane
 .

Sagittal section of the pelvic region

2. A frontal (coronal) plane - also extends vertically,
 But it is perpendicular to the sagittal plane and
divides the body into anterior (front) and
posterior
(back) portions.
 A frontal section of the head, for example, would
divide it into one portion bearing the face and
another bearing the back of the head.
 Contents of the thoracic and abdominal cavities
are most commonly shown in frontal section
Frontal section of the thoracic region
3. A transverse (horizontal) plane passes across the
body or an organ perpendicular to its long axis
 therefore, it divides the body or organ into
superior (upper) and inferior (lower) portions.
 CT scans are typically transverse sections
 .

Transverse section of the head at the level of the eyes

Terms of Relationship and Comparison

 Various adjectives, arranged as pairs of opposites,

describe the relationship of parts of the body in
the anatomical position and compare the position
of two structures relative to each other
Directional Terms 1
8

 Ventral  Medial
 Dorsal  Lateral
 Anterior  Proximal
 Posterior  Distal
 Superior  Superficial
 Inferior  deep
Directional Terms in Human Anatomy

Term Meaning 1
Examples of Usage
Ventral Toward the front 9 to the
The aorta is ventral
vertebral column.

Dorsal Toward the back The vertebral column is

dorsal to the aorta

Anterior Toward the ventral side The sternum is anterior to

the heart.

Posterior Toward the dorsal side The esophagus is posterior

to the trachea

Superior Above The heart is superior to the

diaphragm ,The leg is
superior to the foot
Inferior Below The liver is inferior to the
diaphragm

Medial Toward the median plane The heart is medial to the

lungs
Lateral Away from the median The eyes are lateral to the
plane nose
2
0
Proximal Closer to the point of The elbow is proximal to
attachment or origin the wrist

Distal Farther from the point of The fingernails are at the

attachment or origin distal ends of the fingers

Superficial Closer to the body surface The muscle is superficial to

the bones

Deep Farther from the body The bones are deep to the
surface muscles.
Combined terms describe intermediate positional
arrangements:
 Inferomedial means nearer to the feet and
median plane
 For example, the anterior parts of the ribs run
inferomedially
 Superolateral means nearer to the head and
farther from the median plane
 Terms of Laterality
 Bilateral: Paired structures having right and left members
(e.g., the kidneys)
 Unilateral: those structures occurring on one side only
(e.g., the spleen)
 Ipsilateral: refers to something occurring on the same side of
the body as another structure;
(e.g. The right thumb and right great (big) toe are Ipsilateral
 Contralateral: means occurring on the opposite side of the
body relative to another structure;
(e.g., the right hand is contralateral to the left hand
Terms of Movement

 Various terms describe movements of the

limbs and other parts of the body
 While most movements occur at joints
where two or more bones or cartilages
articulate with one another
 Flexion indicates bending or decreasing the
angle between the bones or parts of the body.
 Dorsiflexion describes flexion at the ankle
joint, as occurs when walking uphill or lifting the
toes off the ground.
 Plantarflexion turns the foot or toes toward the
plantar surface (e.g., when standing on your toes)
 Extension indicates straightening or increasing the angle
between the bones or parts of the body
 Extension usually occurs in a posterior direction, but
extension of the knee joint occurs in an anterior direction
 Extension of a limb or part beyond the normal limit-
hyperextension (overextension) can cause injury
Flexion
• Bending a joint or decreasing the
angle between two bones
Extension
• Straightening a joint or increasing
the angle between two bones
 Abduction means moving away from the median plane
(e.g., when moving an upper limb away from the side of the
body)
 In abduction of the digits (fingers or toes), the term means
spreading them apart - moving the other fingers away from
the neutrally positioned 3rd (middle) finger or moving the
other toes away from the neutrally positioned 2nd toe
 Adduction means moving toward the median
plane (e.g., when moving an upper limb toward
the side of the body)
 In adduction of the digits, the term means
reapproximating the spread fingers or toes or
moving the other digits toward the neutral
position of the 3rd finger or 2nd toe
Adduction
 Moving a body part towards the midline
of the body

Abduction
 Moving a body part away from the
midline of the body

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 Circumduction is a circular movement that is
a combination of flexion, extension, abduction,
and adduction occurring in such a way that the
distal end of the part moves in a circle
 Circumduction can occur at any joint at which all
the above-mentioned movements are possible
(e.g., the hip joint).
 Rotation involves turning or revolving a part of
the body around its longitudinal axis, such as
turning one's head to face sideways
 Medial rotation (internal rotation) brings
the anterior surface of a limb closer to the median
plane, whereas
 Lateral rotation (external rotation) takes
the anterior surface away from the median plane
ROTATION
 Turning on a single axis

CIRCUMDUCTION
 circular motion at the hip or
shoulder

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 Pronation is the rotational movement of the forearm and
hand so that the palm of the hand faces posteriorly and its
dorsum faces anteriorly
 Supination is the rotational movement of the forearm and
hand that swings the radius laterally around its longitudinal
axis so that the dorsum of the hand faces posteriorly and the
palm faces anteriorly (i.e., moving them into the anatomical
position).
PRONATION
• Turning the arm or foot downward
• (palm or sole of the foot - down)
• Prone

SUPINATION
• Turning the arm or foot upward
• (palm or sole of the foot - up)
• Supine

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 Opposition is the movement by which the pad of the 1st digit
(thumb) is brought to another digit pad
 Reposition describes the movement of the 1st digit from the
position of opposition back to its anatomical position.
 Protrusion is a movement anteriorly (forward) as in
protruding the mandible (chin), lips, or tongue
 Retrusion is a movement posteriorly (backward), as in
retruding the mandible, lips, or tongue
 Elevation raises or moves a part superiorly, as in
elevating the shoulders when shrugging, the upper
lid when opening the eye, or the tongue when
pushing it up against the palate
 Depression lowers or moves a part inferiorly, as
in depressing the shoulders when standing at ease,
the upper lid when closing the eye, or pulling the
tongue away from the palate.
RETRACTION
• Moving a part backward

PROTRACTION
• Moving a part forward

ELEVATION
• Raising a part

DEPRESSION
• Lowering a part

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 Eversion moves the sole of the foot away
from the median plane (turning the sole
laterally)
 Inversion moves the sole of the foot
toward the median plane (facing the sole
medially)
Surface Anatomy

 For purposes of study, the body is divided into

two major regions called
1) Axial and
2) Appendicular regions.
Axial Region
 The axial region-it is the part of body near the
axis of the body. consists of the head, neck
(cervical region), and trunk.
 The trunk is further divided into the
 Thoracic region above the diaphragm and
 The Abdominal region below it.
 One way of referring to the locations of
abdominal structures is to divide the region into
quadrants.
 Two perpendicular lines intersecting at the
umbilicus (navel) divide the abdomen into a
 Right upper quadrant (RUQ),
 Right lower quadrant (RLQ),
 Left upper quadrant (LUQ),and
 Left lower quadrant (LLQ)
 The abdomen also can be divided into nine
regions defined by four lines
 The three lateral regions of this grid, from upper
to lower, are the hypochondriac, lumbar, and
Inguinal (iliac) regions.
 The three medial regions from upper to lower are
the epigastric, umbilical, and hypogastric
(pubic) regions.
Appendicular Region

 The appendicular region-it is the part of the

body out of the axis line. consists of the
appendages (also called limbs or extremities) the
upper limbs and the lower limbs.
 The upper limb includes the arm, forearm, wrist,
hand, and fingers.
 The lower limb includes the thigh, leg, ankle,
foot, and toes.
Body Cavities and
Membranes
 The body is internally divided into two major
body cavities,
1. Dorsal and
2. Ventral.
 The organs within them are called the viscera.
 Various membranes line the cavities, cover the
viscera, and hold the viscera in place
Body Cavities and Membranes
Name of Cavity Associated Viscera Membranous Lining

Dorsal Body Cavity

Cranial cavity Brain Meninges

Vertebral canal Spinal cord Meninges

Ventral Body Cavity

Thoracic Cavity

Pleural cavities Lung Pleurae

Pericardial cavity Heart Pericardium

Abdominopelvic cavity

Abdominal cavity Digestive organs,

spleen, kidneys Peritoneum

Pelvic cavity Bladder, rectum,

reproductive organs Peritoneum