Regional Anatomy/Lesson 2

Introduction to Regional Anatomy - Lesson 2 The Anatomical Planes of the Body

Reading:
The best way to understand the relationship between parts of a three dimensional object is to slice through it and look at it's internal structure. The advent of electronic imaging techniques has given great weight to understanding the planes of the body and how they relate to each other. A plane is an axis; three planes are required to describe a three dimensional object. A section is a single view, or slice along one of these planes. The three planes used to describe the human body are:
 * The transverse plane divides the body perpendicular to the long axis; it divides the body into superior (upper) and inferior (lower) portions. A section in this plane is also called a cross section. The transverse plane is also known as the axial plane.
 * The coronal plane spans from side to side dividing the body into anterior (front) and posterior (back) sections.
 * The sagittal plane extends from front to back, dividing the body into left and right portions. A section that separates left from right in halves is a midsagittal section; one that passes parallel to this is a parasagittal section.

Quiz:
for any short answer quiz questions, please answer in lower case. { The first image at the top left of this page shows the { transverse _10} plane of the body.
 * type="{}"}

{ The second shows the { sagittal _8} plane of the body.
 * type="{}"}

{ The third shows the { coronal _7 } plane of the body.
 * type="{}"}