When you enter the health profession it becomes very important to understand the concepts of anatomy and physiology. Not only do we need to know where all the organs are in the body, but we also have to know exactly what they do. There is a lot of memorization that comes into play, but you can’t possibly memorize everything! The key to learning anatomy and physiology is simply understanding all of the concepts. You will see them time and time again. Now I realize that not everyone looking at this site is in the health profession. I remember when I took anatomy and physiology years ago there was plenty of firefighters and massage therapists in my classes. Maybe you are just here because the body intrigues you and you want to learn more! That’s great, because you have come to the right place. We are going to jump right into the first lesson and talk about what anatomy and physiology is and some terms we have to know.

Anatomy and Physiology is simply the study of structure and function. Anatomy being the structure and physiology being the function. When we tackle a new subject like “muscles.” First we will learn about where the muscle is located and next we will learn what it’s doing. Before we can talk about anything we really need to know the terms that health professionals use when describing certain features or landmarks of the body.

Orientation of The Body

Superior-

When something is above something else, we refer to this as superior. (example- the nose is superior to the mouth.)

Inferior-

When something is below something else, this is referred to as inferior. (example- the heart is inferior to the neck.)

Anterior-

When something is forward or in front, it’s called anterior. (example- face and chest.)

Posterior-

When something to the backside of the body, it’s called posterior. (example- the spine is posterior to the lungs.)

Medial-

If we want to talk about something that is toward the mid-line of the body, we will say it’s medial. (example- the heart is medial to the arms.)

Lateral-

We say lateral when we want to talk about something away from the mid-line. (example- the ear is lateral to the eye.

Proximal-

When we are talking about something closer to the body we will say is proximal. (example- the arm is proximal to the hand.)

Distal-

We use the word distal when we are talking about something that is further away from the body. (example- the foot is distal to the knee.)

Body Planes

Body planes are used to essentially section of the body into different halves. This can be helpful if we are looking at a certain section of the body and need to be oriented in which perspective we are seeing it from.

Transverse plane-

This is when we take the body and make to sections at the waist. (upper half and lower half)

Frontal plane-

Imagine starting at the top of head and splitting the body into two. We would be left with a front (anterior) section and back (posterior) section.

Median plan-

This is when we cut the body in half at the mid-line. You would be left with a right and left section of the body.

 

Body Cavities

Body cavities house organs and provide some protection to them. Here is a list of the body cavities- thoracic, dorsal, abdominal and pelvic. It is important to note that the abdominal and pelvic cavities form into one, referred to as the abdominopelvic cavity. This is also further divided up into four quadrants and than nine regions. (refer to the pictures provided.)