Anatomical position why is it important

When an organism is in its standard anatomical position, positional descriptive terms are used to indicate regions and features. 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. In anatomy and kinesiology we use directional terms and terms that describe the most basic movements to help us describe where things are in relationship to one another.

There are really two anatomical positions. There is one position considered the western anatomical position and there is also an eastern anatomical position. They are more similar than different, but they do have some slight differences. In western anatomical position, we are looking at a person standing who is facing forward, with their legs slightly apart, with arms by their sides, and their palms facing forward.

An imaginary vertical line that divides the body equally right down the middle. In many instances, these terms can be paired. For example, a posterosuperior view combines the posterior and superior, giving us a view in which we are looking down at the back of the body, like so:. With me so far? And there you have it: a crash course in anatomical position and directional terms. Curious about planes and cavities? Check out part two of this post! This post was originally published in Be sure to subscribe to the Visible Body Blog for more anatomy awesomeness!

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