Anatomical position
Standing, face directed forward, upper limbs hanging to the sides, and palms facing forward.
Supine
Lying face up.
Prone
Lying face down.
Superior
Up/above
Inferior
Down/below
Anterior
Front/before
Posterior
Back/following
Cephalic
Closer to the head (superior)
Caudal
Closer to the tail (inferior)
Ventral
Toward the belly (anterior)
Dorsal
Toward the back (posterior)
Proximal
Closer to the point of attachment (forearm, thigh)
Distal
Farther from the point of attachment (hand, foot)
Lateral
Away from the midline of the body (shoulder, ear)
Medial
Toward the midline of the body (nose, bellybutton)
Superficial
Toward/on the surface
Deep
Internal, away from the surface
Upper limb
Shoulder to handArm, forearm, wrist, hand
Arm
Shoulder to elbow
Forearm
Elbow to wrist
Lower limb
Hip to footThigh, leg, ankle, foot
Thigh
Hip to knee
Leg
Knee to ankle
Central region
Head, neck, trunk
Trunk
Thorax, abdomen, pelvis
Thorax
Chest
Abdomen
Between the thorax and pelvis
Pelvis
Lower trunk, hips
Abdomen quadrants
Left-upper, right-upper, left-lower, right-lower
Abdomen regions
Epigastric, umbilical, hypogastric, right/left hypochondriac, lumbar, iliac
Epigastric region
Top middle
Umbilical region
Middle middle
Hypogastric region
Bottom middle
Hypochondriac region
Right/left top
Lumbar region
Right/left middle
Iliac region
Right/left bottom