Medical Language Related to the Body as a Whole (SC)
Topic: Medical Language Related to the Body as a Whole
Text Reference: Chapter 2. Medical Language Related to the Body as a Whole
Objectives: Students should be able to…
Use the anatomic reference system to identify the body planes below.
frontal (coronal plane) | sagittal plane | transverse plane
Use the anatomic reference system to identify the body cavities
abdominal | abdominopelvic | cranial | cranial | diaphragm | dorsal | pelvic | thoracic | ventral | vertebral | vertebral
Practice pronouncing and defining the following directional terms.
Anterior (or Ventral) (an-TĒR-ē-ŏr)
Deep (DĒP)
Distal (DIS-tăl)
Homeostasis (HŌ-mē-ō-STĀ-sĭs)
Inferior (or Caudal) (in-FĒR-ē-ŏr)
Lateral (LĂT-ĕr- ăl)
Medial (MĒD-ē-ăl)
Posterior (or Dorsal) (pŏs-TĒ-rē-or)
Proximal (PROK-sĭ-măl)
Superficial (SOO-pĕr-FISH-ăl)
Superior (or Cranial) (soo-PĒ-rē-or)
Use the anatomic reference system to identify the regions and quadrants of the body pictured below.
diaphragm | epigastric | hypogastric | left hypochondriac | left iliac | left lumbar | left lower quadrant | left upper quadrant | right hypochondriac | right iliac | right lower quadrant | right lumbar | right upper quadrant | umbilical
Use terms related to the body as a whole.
Test your knowledge by answering the questions below.
Describes a position closer to the surface of the body.
- anterior
- superior
- superficial
The plane that divides the body or organ horizontally into upper and lower portions is called the
- transverse plane
- sagittal plane
- frontal plane
The cavity that includes the cranial cavity and spinal cavity is called the
- ventral cavity
- anterior cavity
- posterior cavity
The name of the layer of the membrane that covers the organs is the
- parietal layer
- serous layer
- visceral layer
Chapter Attributions
This chapter was adapted by Jerry Casteel from “Medical Language Related to the Body as a Whole” in Medical Terminology Student Companion by Stacey Grimm; Colleen Allee; Heidi Belitz; Traci Gotz; Micheal Randolph; Elaine Strachota; and Laurie Zielinski. Licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.
