Terms of Orientation
Art of Anatomy
BIO 123 / FA 123

Sagittal
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Coronal / Frontal
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Transverse / Horizontal
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Left & Right
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Medial & Lateral
• Medial is closer to the midsagittal plane of the body while lateral is further away from the midline.
• In this illustration,
Adam’s linea semilunaris is lateral to his linea alba.

Anterior & Posterior
• Using the coronal plane as a reference, anterior is the front of the body while posterior is the back.
• The vertebral column is posterior to the sternum.

Superior & Inferior
• These terms use the transverse plane as a point of reference.
• In this painting you can see that the chin of
Venus is superior to her navel.

Superficial & Deep
• These terms compare two anatomical features by how close or far they are from the surface of the skin.
• “The small intestine is deep to the skin”

Proximal & Distal
• These terms are used when describing two features on the same extremity (limb).
• Proximal refers to something closer to the trunk of the body, and distal means further from the trunk.