ANATOMICAL TERMS
TERM
DESCRIPTION
Anterior
Posterior
Medial
Lateral
Superior
Inferior
Proximal
Toward the front of the body
Toward the rear of the body
Toward the midline of the body
Toward the sides of the body
Toward the head
Toward the feet
Closer to the fixed end of a limb or toward the midline of the
body
Closer to the free end of a limb or away from the midline of the
body
Section dividing the body into anterior and posterior portions
Section dividing body into right and left portions
Section dividing the body into superior (cranial) and inferior
(caudal) portions
Distal
Frontal section
Sagittal section
Transverse section
TERMS USED TO DESCRIBE SURFACE FEATURES
OF THE SKELETON
TERM
Projections from a bone
Crest
Condyle
Epicondyle
Head
Line
Process
Ramus
Shaft
Spine
Trochanter
Tubercle
Tuberosity
Indentations to the surface of a bone
Facet
Fissure
Foramen
Fossa
Meatus
Neck
Sulcus
DESCRIPTION
A bony ridge
A rounded, bony projection possessing a smooth surface for
articulating with another bone
A roughened projection near a condyle
that is a place of attachment for tendons and ligaments
The enlarged, often rounded end of a bone
A low, bony ridge
A generalized term for a projection
An elongate, sometimes columnar process
The elongate, middle portion of a long bone
A projection, often narrow and pointed
A large, blunt process
A small, usually rounded process
A large process
A smooth, flat surface for articulation, usually rounded or oval
A narrow, slit-like opening in a bone
A hole in a bone
A depression in a bone
A deep canal penetrating a bone
A shallow groove separating the head from the shaft of a long
bone
A narrow groove in a bone
SKELETAL SYSTEM
Axial Skeleton (80 bones)
I. Skull - identify the sagittal, coronal,
lambdoidal, and squamosal sutures
A. Cranium (8 bones)
1. Frontal (1)
a. glabella
b. supra-orbital foramen/notch
c. zygomatic process of the frontal
d. supra-orbital margin
2. Parietal (2, left and right)
a. sagittal suture
3. Temporal (2, left and right)
a. squamosal suture
b. zygomatic process of the
temporal
c. external acoustic meatus
d. styloid process
e. mastoid process
f. mandibular fossa
g. jugular foramen
h. carotid canal
i. internal acoustic meatus
4. Occipital (1)
a. lambdoidal suture
b. foramen magnum
c. occipital condyles
5. Sphenoid (1)
a. greater wing of sphenoid
b. lesser wing of sphenoid
c. sella turcica
d. optic canal
e. pterygoid processes
f. foramen ovale
g. foramen spinosum
h. foramen rotundum
6. Ethmoid (1)
a. crista galli
b. cribriform plate and foramina
c. perpendicular plate
e. nasal conchae
B. Facial Bones (14)
1. Maxilla (2, left and right)
a. infra-orbital foramen
b. zygomatic process of the maxilla
c. alveolar process/margin
2. Palatine (2, left and right)
3. Zygomatic (2, left and right)
4. Lacrimal (2, left and right)
5. Nasal (2, left and right)
6. Vomer (1)
7. Inferior nasal conchae (2, left and right)
8. Mandible (1)
a. ramus
b. angle
c. alveolar process/margin
d. mental foramen
e. mandibular foramen
f. condylar process
g. coronoid process
C. Hyoid - not a true skull bone (observed on
articulated skeleton)
II. Vertebral column (26 vertebrae)
A. Features for all Vertebrae
1. transverse process
2. spinous process
3. lamina
4. pedicle
5. vertebral foramen
6. articulating facets and
processes (superior and inferior)
7. intervertebral disc
B. Types of Vertebrae
1. Cervical (7) - note transverse foramen
a. atlas (C1) - facet for dens of axis
b. axis (C2) – dens
2. Thoracic (12) – note costal facets
3. Lumbar (5) - note thick body
4. Sacrum
a. sacral canal
b. median sacral crest
c. sacral foramina
d. superior articular process
5. Coccyx
III. Thorax
A. Sternum (1)
1. manubrium
2. body
3. xiphoid process
4. jugular notch
B. Rib (12 pair)
1. neck
2. head
3. tubercle
4. angle
5. shaft
6. Junction with costal cartilage
Appendicular Skeleton (126 bones)
I. Pectoral Girdle and Upper Limb
A. Pectoral girdle
1. Clavicle (2, left and right)
a. sternal end
b. acromial end
c. conoid tubercle
2. Scapula (2, left and right)
a. acromion process
b. coracoid process
c. glenoid cavity/fossa
d. subscapular fossa
e. supraspinous fossa
f. infraspinous fossa
g. lateral/axillary border
h. medial/vertebral border
i. spine
B. Arm
1. Humerus (2, left and right)
a. head
b. surgical neck
c. anatomical neck
d. greater tubercle
e. lesser tubercle
f. intertubercular sulcus
g. medial epicondyle
h. lateral epicondyle
i. capitulum
j. trochlea
k. coronoid fossa
l. olecranon fossa
m. deltoid tuberosity
2. Radius (2, left and right)
a. radial tuberosity
b. head and neck
c. styloid process
d. ulnar notch
3. Ulna (2, left and right)
a. coronoid process
b. olecranon process
c. trochlear notch
d. radial notch
e. head
4. Carpal (16)
Proximal row, lateral to medial
a. scaphoid
b. lunate
c. triangular or triquetral
d. pisiform
Distal row, lateral to medial
e. trapezium
f. trapezoid
g. capitate
h. hamate
5. Metacarpal (10, left and right)
6. Phalanx (28, left and right) - plural =
phalanges
Pelvic Girdle and Lower Limb
A. Os coxa or pelvic girdle (2, left and right)
1. Ilium
a. iliac crest
b. anterior superior iliac spine
c. anterior inferior iliac spine
d. posterior superior iliac spine
e. posterior inferior iliac spine
f. iliac fossa
g. auricular surface
h. greater sciatic notch
2. Ischium
a. ischial tuberosity
b. ischial spine
c. lesser sciatic notch
d. ramus of ischium
3. Pubis
a. pubic tubercle
b. obturator foramen
c. acetabulum (composed of ilium,
ischium, pubis)
d. superior pubic ramus
e. inferior pubic ramus
B. Leg
1. Femur (2, left and right)
a. greater trochanter
b. lesser trochanter
c. lateral epicondyle
d. medial epicondyle
e. lateral condyle
f. medial condyle
g. intercondylar fossa
h. gluteal tuberosity
i. linea aspera
j. patellar surface
k. head & neck
2. Patella (2, left and right)
3. Tibia (2, left and right)
a. medial condyle
b. lateral condyle
c. intercondylar eminence
d. medial malleolus
e. tibial tuberosity
4. Fibula (2, left and right)
a. lateral malleolus
5. Tarsals (14, left and right)
Proximal - lateral to medial
a. calcaneus
b. talus
c. navicular
Distal - lateral to medial
d. cuboid
e. lateral cuneiform
f. intermediate cuneiform
g. medial cuneiform
6. Metatarsal (10, left and right)
7. Phalanx (28, left and right) - plural =
phalanges