Directional Terms Chapter 3

Question 1

anatomical position

Answer 1

standing upright, with arms at the side and palms facing forward; the patient’s legs are straight, and the toes are pointing forward

Question 2

supine position

Answer 2

lying horizontally facing upward

Question 3

prone position

Answer 3

lying horizontally facing downward

Question 4

midline

Answer 4

imaginary line that runs from the head to the feet and through the umbilicus; divides the body into right and left halves

Question 5

axial portion of the body

Answer 5

includes head, neck, and trunk

Question 6

appendicular portion of the body

Answer 6

includes upper and lower extremities

Question 7

anterior

Answer 7

toward the front of the body; ventral

Question 8

posterior

Answer 8

toward the back of the body; dorsal

Question 9

deep

Answer 9

away from the body’s surface

Question 10

superficial

Answer 10

at or near the body’s surface

Question 11

medial

Answer 11

toward the body’s midline

Question 12

lateral

Answer 12

away from the body’s midline

Question 13

superior

Answer 13

above

Question 14

inferior

Answer 14

below

Question 15

proximal

Answer 15

closest to the point of origin

Question 16

distal

Answer 16

farthest from the point of origin

Question 17

sagittal plane

Answer 17

runs vertically from front to back and divides the body into right and left portion

Question 18

frontal plane (coronal plane)

Answer 18

runs vertically from left to right and divides the body into front and back

Question 19

transverse plane

Answer 19

runs parallel to the ground and divides the body into upper and lower portions

Question 20

abduction

Answer 20

movement toward the side, away from the body

Question 21

adduction

Answer 21

movement toward the side, toward the body

Question 22

apex

Answer 22

the pointed tip of a conical structure

Question 23

base

Answer 23

the lower or supporting part of any structure

Question 24

bilateral

Answer 24

both sides

Question 25

unilateral

Answer 25

one side

Question 26

ipsilateral

Answer 26

the same side

Question 27

contralateral

Answer 27

opposite side

Question 28

inversion

Answer 28

movement of the ankle causing the bottom of the foot to face toward the midline or medially

Question 29

eversion

Answer 29

movement of the ankle causing the bottom of the foot to face toward the side or laterally

Question 30

flexion

Answer 30

movement toward the front or anterior (except at the knee)

Question 31

extension

Answer 31

movement toward the back or posterior (except at the knee)

Question 32

horizontal adduction

Answer 32

movement of the arm toward the midline, or anterior, when at shoulder level

Question 33

horizontal abduction

Answer 33

movement of the arm away from the midline, or posterior, when at shoulder level

Question 34

medial rotation

Answer 34

rotation movement of the shoulder or hip toward the midline; internal rotation

Question 35

lateral rotation

Answer 35

rotation movement of the shoulder or hip away from the midline; external rotation

Question 36

pronation

Answer 36

rotation movement of the forearm to palm down; palm facing posterior

Question 37

supination

Answer 37

rotation movement of the forearm to palm up; palm facing anterior

Question 38

protraction

Answer 38

movement of the scapula away from the spinal column; scapular abduction

Question 39

retraction

Answer 39

movement of the scapula toward the spinal column; scapular adduction

Question 40

radial deviation

Answer 40

movement of the wrist toward the radius or away from the body; wrist abduction

Question 41

ulnar deviation

Answer 41

movement of the wrist toward the ulna or toward the body; wrist adduction

Question 42

ventral

Answer 42

front; anterior

Question 43

dorsal

Answer 43

back; posterior

Question 44

dorsal cavity

Answer 44

located on the posterior or back part of the body. It is further divided into the cranial cavity, and the vertebral cavity

Question 45

cranial cavity

Answer 45

contains the brain

Question 45

vertebral cavity

Answer 45

contains the spinal column

Question 46

ventral cavity

Answer 46

located on the anterior side of the body, consists of the thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities

Question 47

thoracic cavity

Answer 47

contains the lungs, heart, great vessels, trachea, and thymus

Question 48

abdominopelvic cavity

Answer 48

one large cavity but an imaginary line is sometimes drawn to create a boundary between the abdominal and pelvic cavities

Question 49

abdominal cavity

Answer 49

contains the stomach, pancreas, liver, gallbladder, and large and small intestines; the kidneys lie at the back of the abdomen in an area called the retroperitoneal space

Question 50

retroperitoneal space

Answer 50

the anatomical space behind the peritoneum (the serous membrane lining the cavity of the abdomen and covering the abdominal organs.)

Question 51

pelvic cavity

Answer 51

contains the sigmoid colon, rectum, bladder, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries

Question 52

nine region system

Answer 52

divides the abdominopelvic cavity into 9 regions

Question 53

four quadrant system

Answer 53

divides the abdominopelvic cavity into four regions; intersect at the umbilicus

Question 54

RUQ

Answer 54

right upper quadrant

Question 55

LUQ

Answer 55

left upper quadrant

Question 56

RLQ

Answer 56

right lower quadrant

Question 57

LLQ

Answer 57

left lower quadrant

Question 58

1 hypochondriac region

Answer 58

upper left and right corners

Question 59

2 epigastric region

Answer 59

upper middle region

Question 60

3 lumbar region

Answer 60

left and right middle region

Question 61

4 umbilical region

Answer 61

middle region

Question 62

5 iliac region

Answer 62

lower left and right corners

Question 63

6 hypogastric region

Answer 63

lower middle region