cephalic
pertaining to the head
anterior
pertaining to front (side of body)
caudal
pertaining to the tail
distal
pertaining to farthest
dorsal
pertaining to back (side of body)
inferior
pertaining to below
lateral
pertaining to the side
medial
pertaining to the middle
posterior
pertaining to back (side of body)
prone
meaning to lie face down
deep
meaning further below from the surface
proximal
pertaining to the nearest (to beginning of structure)
superficial
meaning nearer the surface
supine
meaning to lie face up
ventral
pertaining to belly (side of body)
abdominal
pertaining to the abdomen
antecubital
pertaining to in front of the elbow
axillary
meaning under arm area
brachial
pertaining to the arm
cervical
pertaining to the neck
cranial
pertaining to the skull
femoral
pertaining to femur/thigh
genital
pertaining to the genitals
gluteal
pertaining to the buttocks
inguinal
pertaining to groin
lower extremity
a phrase used to refer to the entire leg
nasal
pertaining to the nose
orbital
pertaining to the eye socket
oral
pertaining to the mouth
otic
pertaining to the ear
palmar
a term meaning the palm of the hand
patellar
pertaining to the kneecap
pelvic
pertaining to the pelvis
plantar
meaning sole of the foot
popliteal
meaning the creased area behind the knee
thoracic
pertaining to the chest
scapular
pertaining to the shoulder blade
sternal
pertaining to breast bone
trunk
meaning the torso, excluding head and extremities
umbilical
meaning the region around the navel
upper extremity
a phrase used to refer to the entire arm
vertebral
pertaining to vertebra/back bone
cranial cavity
dorsal cavity; lies inside skull and contains the brain; brain is protected by membrane sac called the meninges.
spinal cavity
dorsal cavity; formed by canal through vertebrae; contains the spinal cord; spinal cord is also protected by the meninges.
thoracic cavity
superior of two ventral cavities; found enclosed by ribs and separated from abdominopelvic cavity by diaphragm muscle; contains organs such as the lungs, heart, esophagus, trachea, aorta, and thymus gland; it can be subdivided into one central and two sid
abdominopelvic cavity
inferior of two ventral cavities; large cavity generally subdivided into abdominal and pelvic cavities; however, no clear structure indicating where one cavity stops and the other begins; organs of abdominopelvic cavity are protected by membrane covering
abdomin/0
abdomen
anter/0
front (side of body)
brachi/o
arm
caud/o
tail
cephal/0
head
cervic/o
neck
chondr/o
cartilage
crani/o
skull
cubit/o
elbow
dist/o
farthest (away from beginning of structure)
dors/o
back (side of body)
femor/o
femur, thigh bone
gastr/o
stomach
genit/o
genitals
glute/o
buttocks
ili/o
ilium (part of pelvis)
infer/o
below, lower
inguin/o
groin
later/o
side
lumb/o
low back
medi/o
middle
nas/o
nose
orbit/o
eye socket
or/o
mouth
ot/o
ear
patell/o
patella/kneecap
proxim/o
nearest (to beginning of structure)
pelv/o
pelvis
poster/o
back (side of body)
thorac/o
chest
scapul/o
scapula, shoulder blade
spin/o
spine
stern/o
sternum, breast bone
super/o
above, upper
ventr/o
belly (side of body)
vertebr/o
vertebra, back bone
frontal (coronal) plane
a vertical plane that runs from side to side, it slices body into anterior and posterior portions; a cut along frontal plane produces a frontal or coronal section
sagittal plane
also a vertical plane but it runs from front to back; it slices body into left and right portions; a cut along the sagittal plane produces a sagittal section
transverse plane
only horizontal plane; slices body into upper and lower portions; a cut along transverse plane produces a transverse section