Anatomical/ Directional
Terms
Distal - further from trunk
Proximal - closer to trunk
lateral
Lateral - away from midline
Medial - closer to midline
superior
(cranial)
anterior
(ventral)
medial
proximal
Anterior - front side (aka ventral)
Posterior - back side (aka dorsal)
Superior - closer to head (aka cranial)
Inferior - further from head (aka caudal)
NOT SHOWN
posterior
(dorsal)
Superficial - closer to surface
Deep - further from surface
Plantar - bottom of foot
Dorsal - top of foot
inferior
(caudal)
distal
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PLANES
PLANE -- a two-dimensional surface defined by 3 points
not on the same line (i.e. not colinear)
pt 1
pt 2
pt 3
PLANE
MOTION OCCURS “IN A PLANE”
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Leg Swing during gait (walking/running)
Plane
Even though leg has considerable thickness - only consider the
joint centers and the lines connecting them; so “thin” segments
define the leg which swings “IN THE PLANE”
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AXES
AXIS -- a line passing
perpendicularly through a plane
AXIS
PLANE
MOTION OCCURS “ABOUT AN AXIS”
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Leg Swing during gait (walking/running)
AXIS
AXIS PASSES THROUGH JOINT CENTER
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Motion occurs “IN A PLANE”
AXIS
PLANE
Motion occurs “ABOUT AN AXIS”
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Body Planes
• Sagittal -- vertical plane that
divides the body into RIGHT
and LEFT parts
Transverse
Plane
• Frontal -- vertical plane that
divides the body into
ANTERIOR and POSTERIOR
parts
• Transverse -- horizontal
planes that divides the body
into TOP and BOTTOM parts
Frontal
Plane
Sagittal Plane
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Cardinal or “Mid” Planes
• DEFINITION -- if a
SAGITTAL
plane passes through PLANE
the body such that it
divides it into equal
mass halves
MID-SAGGITAL
PLANE
• INTERSECTION -- the
point at which the midsagittal, mid-frontal,
and mid-transverse
planes intersect is the
CENTER OF MASS
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Body Planes & Axes
Sagittal Plane = Medial-Lateral Axis (ML)
Frontal Plane = Anterior-Posterior Axis
(AP)
Transverse Plane = Longitudinal Axis
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Sagittal Plane Movements
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Sagittal Plane Joint Mvmts
flexion = decrease angle between 2 segs
extension = increase angle between 2 segs
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Sagittal Plane Joint Mvmts
dorsiflexion = point toes up (towards shin)
plantar flexion = point toes down
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Frontal Plane Movements
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Frontal Plane Joint Mvmts
abduction = move away from midline
adduction = move towards midline
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Frontal Plane Joint Mvmts
elevation = move shoulder girdle
superiorly
depression = move shoulder girdle
inferiorly
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Frontal Plane Joint Mvmts
inversion = lift medial border of foot
eversion = lift lateral border of foot
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Frontal Plane Joint Mvmts
radial deviation = move toward radial
styloid
ulnar deviation = move toward ulnar
styloid
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Frontal Plane Joint Mvmts
L/R lateral bending = bend trunk to L/R
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Transverse Plane Movements
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Transverse Plane Joint Mvmts
L/R rotation =
anterior surface
movement about
longitudinal axis
medial rotation =
anterior surface
rotates medially
lateral rotation =
anterior surface
rotates laterally
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Transverse Plane Joint Mvmts
supination = rotate thumb laterally
pronation = rotate thumb medially
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Transverse Plane Joint Mvmts
horizontal adduction
= move towards
midline in
transverse plane
horizontal abduction
= move away from
midline in
transverse plane
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Circumduction =
Flexion
+ Abduction
+ Adduction
+ Extension
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