Body Planes,
Directions, and
Cavities
Introduction
► to
care for patients, you must be able to identify
areas of the body for treatments, injections, or
diagnoses
► directional terms locate a portion of the body or
describe a position of the body eg. supine or prone
► for examination purposes, patients are either lying
face up (supine) or face down (prone)
Body Planes
 Imaginary lines drawn through body at various
parts to separate body into sections
 Directional terms are created by these planes
 Three main planes:
►Transverse
►Sagittal
►Frontal
(Midsagittal)
Transverse Plane
► Horizontal
plane that divides the body into top and
bottom parts
► Body parts above other parts are called superior
► Body parts below other parts are called inferior
► ex: knee is superior to ankle, but inferior to hip
Sagittal Plane
► divides
the body into right and left sides
► Midsagittal plane divides the body into equal halves
► Body parts close to the midline, or plane, are called
medial
► Body parts away from the midline are called lateral
Frontal or Coronal Plane
► Divides
the body into front and back sections
► Body parts in front of plane, or on the front of the
body are called anterior
► Body parts in back of plane, or on the back of the
body are called posterior
Other Directional Terms
► Proximal:
body parts close to the main trunk of the
body (generally called the point of reference)
► Distal: body parts distant from the point of reference
► Superficial: toward the body surface
► Deep: away from the body surface
Body Cavities
► Spaces
within body that
contain vital organs
 Two main body cavities:
1.
Dorsal
 One long, continuous
cavity located on back
of body
 Divided into two
sections: cranial, which
contains the brain, and
the spinal cavity,
which contains the
spinal cord
Body Cavities
2.
Ventral
 on the front side of the body
 Separated into two distinct
parts by diaphragm
 Thoracic cavity is located in
chest and contains heart,
lungs and major blood vessels
 Abdominal cavity is divided
into upper and lower parts
►Upper abdominal cavity
contains organs of
digestive and urinary
system
►Pelvic cavity contains
reproductive organs
Abdominal Cavity
 Abdominal cavity is so
large it is divided into
smaller parts
 One method is into
quadrants (Right Upper
Quadrant, Left Upper
Quadrant, Right Lower
Quadrant, Left Lower
Quadrant)
 Another method is into
regions
Abdominal Regions
► Center
region
 Epigastric (above stomach)
 Umbilical (near the
umbilicus or navel)
 Hypogastric (below navel)
► Either
side of center region
 Hypochondriac (below
ribs)
 Lumbar (near the waist)
 Iliac, or inguinal (near the
hipbone)
Apply your Knowledge
► Loretta
complains of abdominal pain. The
emergency room physician suspects that
she may have appendicitis.
► In which of the following quadrants is the
appendix located?
A. RUQ
B. RLQ
C. LUQ
D. LLQ
Answer: B. RLQ
Apply your Knowledge
► This
patient is being examined. Which of
the following positions is she in?
A. Prone
B. Supine
Answer: B. Supine
Apply your Knowledge
► Complete
the following statements by
adding the correct directional terms.
1. The hands are ________________ to the
elbow.
 distal
2.
The nose is _______________ to the ear.
 medial
3.
The stomach is _____________ to the
heart and ________________ to the
intestines.
 inferior, superior
Apply your Knowledge
are the opposites for the following
directional terms?
► What
•deep
superficial
•posterior
anterior
•inferior
superior
•supine
prone
•lateral
medial