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The anatomical position is the standard reference position of the body. It is used to describe where structures lie and how the body moves. The person stands upright and faces forward, with the arms straight at the sides, the palms facing forward, and the feet together and parallel, with the toes pointing forward. In males, the penis is described as erect.
Image - The anatomical position
SimpleMed original by Dr. Bethany Turner
These terms say where one body part lies in relation to another. They are used as if the person were in the anatomical position, whatever position they are really in.
Left - the patient’s left, the observer’s right.
Right - the patient’s right, the observer’s left.
Superior - above, or towards the head, e.g. the knee is superior to the ankle.
Inferior - below, or towards the feet, e.g. the knee is inferior to the hip.
Anterior - towards the front of the body, in front of, e.g. the heart is anterior to the spine.
Posterior - towards the back of the body, behind, e.g. the spine is posterior to the heart.
Lateral - away from the midline of the body, e.g. the ears are lateral to the nose.
Medial - towards the midline of the body, e.g. the nose sits medial to the ears.
Proximal - closer to the trunk of the body, or to another specified thing, e.g. the shoulder is proximal to the wrist. These terms also apply to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract (the gut), e.g. the oesophagus is proximal to the anus.
Distal - further away from the trunk of the body, or from another specified thing, e.g. the fingers are distal to the elbow. These terms also apply to the GI tract, e.g. the colon is distal to the stomach.
Superficial - closer to the surface of the body, e.g. the skin is superficial to the muscle.
Deep - far from the body surface, e.g. the muscle is deep to the skin.
Contralateral - on opposite sides, e.g. the left arm is contralateral to the right leg.
Ipsilateral - on the same side, e.g. the left arm is ipsilateral to the left leg.
Cranial - towards the head, the same as superior. Used most often when describing embryos, and sometimes for adults.
Caudal - literally towards the tail, the same as inferior. Used most often when describing embryos, and sometimes for adults.
Note that directional terms can be combined, e.g. the right eye is superolateral to (that is, above and to the side of) the tip of the nose.
Anatomical planes are imaginary flat sheets that cut through the body. They are used to describe the location of structures.
Sagittal plane - a vertical plane that divides the body into a left part and a right part. The median sagittal plane passes down the midline and divides the body into equal halves.
Coronal plane - a vertical plane at a right angle to the sagittal plane. It divides the body into a front (anterior) part and a back (posterior) part.
Transverse plane - a horizontal plane, at a right angle to both the sagittal and coronal planes. It divides the body into an upper (superior) part and a lower (inferior) part. It is also called the axial plane.
These terms describe how a body part moves, for example when you examine a joint or describe an injury. Each movement is described from the anatomical position.
Flexion - decreasing the angle of a joint, e.g. bending the elbow.
Extension - increasing the angle of a joint, e.g. straightening the elbow.
Dorsiflexion - decreasing the angle between the top of the foot and the front of the shin, e.g. drawing the toes up towards the shin.
Plantarflexion - increasing the angle between the top of the foot and the front of the shin, e.g. pointing the toes down, as when rising onto the tiptoes.
Elevation - moving a body part in a superior direction, e.g. shrugging the shoulders.
Depression - moving a body part in an inferior direction, e.g. slumping the shoulders.
Eversion - turning the foot at the subtalar joint (the joint just below the ankle joint) so the sole of the foot is facing laterally.
Inversion - turning the foot at the subtalar joint so the sole of the foot is facing medially.
Abduction - moving something away from the midline, e.g. moving the arm out to the side from the anatomical position, until it is at a right angle to the body.
Adduction - moving something towards and/or across the midline, e.g. moving the arm from directly out to the side back into anatomical position.
Lateral rotation - turning a limb around its long axis, away from the midline, e.g. rotating the leg so the foot is pointing out to the side.
Medial rotation - turning a limb around its long axis, towards the midline, e.g. rotating the leg so the foot is pointing inwards towards the other leg.
Pronation - rotating the flexed forearm from palm up to palm down.
Supination - rotating the flexed forearm from palm down to palm up.
Retraction - movement of the scapula (shoulder blade) backwards and towards the midline over the chest wall, e.g. pushing the shoulders back and pushing out the chest.
Protraction - movement of the scapula (shoulder blade) forwards and away from the midline over the chest wall, e.g. pushing the shoulders forwards to collapse the chest.
Radial deviation - sideways movement at the wrist joint that moves the thumb-side of the hand closer to the radius. It can also be known as radial flexion.
Ulnar deviation - sideways movement at the wrist joint that moves the little finger-side of the hand closer to the ulna. It can also be known as ulnar flexion.
These movements are in addition to flexion and extension of the fingers.
Abduction of the fingers - splaying the fingers of one hand, away from the midline of the hand. For the fingers, the midline is that of the hand, not of the body.
Adduction of the fingers - pushing the fingers of one hand towards each other and towards the midline of the hand.
Opposition - touching the thumb and little finger together.
Reposition - moving the thumb away from the little finger, the reverse of opposition.
Abduction - moving the thumb away from the palm anteriorly, at right angles to the palm.
Adduction - moving the thumb towards the palm posteriorly, at right angles to the palm.
Flexion - moving the thumb across the palm, in the plane of the palm.
Extension - moving the thumb out to the side, away from the index finger, in the plane of the palm.
These terms describe how a patient is lying or sitting, for example for an examination or an operation.
Prone - lying face down.
Supine - lying face up.
Lithotomy position - with the patient lying supine, hips flexed and abducted and knees flexed, usually supported in stirrups. Used to facilitate childbirth and gynaecological procedures.
Lateral position - lying on one side. This is not the same as the direction term lateral.
Sitting - as in a chair.
Edited by: Dr. Thomas Burnell and Dr. Ben Appleby
Reviewed by: Dr. Marcus Judge
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