1. Directional Terms, Planes, Positions, Regions, and Quadrants
Chapter 3
Directional Terms, Planes, Positions, Regions, and Quadrants

2. Purpose of Directional Terms, Planes, Positions, Regions, and Quadrants
directional terms: used to describe the relative position of one part of the body to another
anatomic planes: used to identify or view the location of organs and anatomical structures
body position terms: used to communicate how the patient’s body is placed for examination, diagnostic procedures, surgery, treatment, and recovery
What is the overall purpose of using directional terms, anatomic planes, body position terms, regions, and quadrants?

3. Purpose of Directional Terms, Planes, Positions, Regions, and Quadrants (cont’d)
abdominopelvic regions: used in relation to physical examination and medical history to describe signs and symptoms
Abdominopelvic quadrants: division of the abdominopelvic area into four quadrants by using imaginary vertical and horizontal lines that intersect at the umbilicus
Ask students to name and define the four abdominopelvic quadrants.

4. Anatomic Position
Body is viewed as erect, arms at the side with palms of the hands facing forward, and feet placed side by side pointed anteriorly.
Whether the patient is standing or lying down face up, the directional terms are the same.
How is the anatomical position affected when the patient is standing?
How is the anatomical position affected when the patient is lying down, face up?

5. Objective 1: Define and spell word parts related to directional terms.
Chapter 3
Objective 1: Define and spell word parts related to directional terms.

6. Combining Forms for Directional Terms
anter/o
caud/o
cephal/o
dist/o
dors/o
infer/o
later/o
medi/o
poster/o
proxim/o
super/o
ventr/o
Review the meaning and use of combining forms.
Present the meaning of combining forms for directional terms and give examples of how they may be used.
What are the combining forms for downward and upward? Answers: Caudad, toward the tail, can mean downward. Cephalad, toward the head, can also mean upward.
What are the combining forms for side, middle, and back/behind? Answers: lat/o = side, medi/o = middle, poster/o = back/behind. Note that posterior can refer to an organ positioned behind another.
What is the combining form for belly (front)? Answer: ventr/o = belly (front).

7. Prefixes and Suffixes Prefixes Suffixes bi- uni- -ad -ior
Review the meaning of prefixes and suffixes and give examples of how they may be used.
How do prefixes and suffixes modify common directional terms?
What other suffixes mean “pertaining to”?

8. Review Question Which of the following is a prefix? bi- -ad dist/o
Answer: a) bi-.
What does bi- mean? Answer: two; in bilateral, for example, it refers to two or both sides.
b) -ad is what type of word part? What does it mean? Answers: suffix, toward.
c) dist/o is what type of word part? What does it mean? Answers: combining form, away (from the point of attachment).

9. Chapter 3
Objective 2: Define, pronounce, and spell terms used to describe directions with respect to the body.

10. Directional Terms (animation on Student Evolve site)
caudad
cephalad
lateral (lat)
medial
unilateral
bilateral
distal
proximal
Present the directional terms. Compare and contrast their meanings.
What is the difference between unilateral and bilateral? Give an example of how the terms might be used.
Answer: unilateral refers to one side only; bilateral refers to two sides, as in bilateral hearing loss, meaning hearing loss in both ears, as opposed to unilateral hearing loss, which refers to loss of hearing in just one ear.
Explain point of attachment as used in the definitions of proximal and distal.

11. Directional Terms (cont’d)
inferior
superior
caudal
cephalic
anterior
posterior
dorsal
ventral
anteroposterior (AP)
posteroanterior (PA)
Which directional term means “pertaining to the front and back”? Answer: anteroposterior

12. Review Question Which of the following means two sides? unilateral
bilateral
Answer: c) bilateral
Ask students to define the other terms.

13. Chapter 3
Objective 3: Define, pronounce, and spell terms used to describe the anatomic planes.

14. Anatomic Planes
frontal or coronal: vertical plane passing through the body from side to side, dividing the body into anterior and posterior portions
midsagittal: vertical plane passing through the body from front to back at the midline, dividing body equally into right and left halves
sagittal: vertical plane passing through the body from front to back, dividing body into right and left sides (any plane parallel to the midsagittal plane)
Name several parts of the body whose position can be identified by using the planes defined above.
What position is the body assumed to be in unless specified otherwise?
Learning tip – coronal is similar to crown; think if the plane slicing downward from the point of where crown would sit on the head, creating anterior and posterior portions.
The midsagittal plane and parasagittal planes are types of sagittal planes, which divide the body into left and right portions. There is only one midsagittal plane at the midline of the body. All parasagittal planes are parallel to the midsagital plane and divide the body into unequal left and right portions.
The midline is an imaginary line separating the body (and parts of the body) into halves. The midline is a common reference point.
The transverse plane is also called the horizontal plane.

15. Anatomic Planes (cont’d)
parasagittal: vertical plane passing through the body from front to back, dividing the body into unequal left and right sides
transverse: horizontal plane dividing the body into superior and inferior portions
Reinforce the use of anatomic planes in diagnostic imaging and surgery.

16. Anatomic Planes (cont’d)
This is an illustration of how the body is divided into anatomical planes.

17. Review Question
Have students label the illustrations with the correct plane.
Answers: 1) coronal or frontal plane, 2) transverse plane, 3) midsagittal plane
Copyright © 2014, 2012, 2009, 2005, 2002, 1998, 1994, 1989, 1985 by Mosby, Inc., an affiliate of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

18. Chapter 3
Objective 4: Define, pronounce, and spell terms used to describe body positions.

19. Body Positions
Fowler position: semi-sitting position with slight elevation of the knees
lithotomy position: lying on back, hips and knees flexed, thighs abducted and externally rotated
prone position: lying on abdomen, facing downward (head may be turned to one side)
orthopnea position: sitting erect in a chair or sitting upright in bed supported by pillows behind the head and chest (also called orthopneic position)
Explain the use of the various positions when preparing a patient for physical examination, diagnostic procedures, surgery, treatment, and recovery.
Fowler position indicates the patient is in a sitting position with the head of the bed raised between 30° and 90°. Variations in the angle are denoted by high Fowler, indicating an upright position at approximately 90°, Fowler indicating an angle between 45° and 60°, semi-Fowler, 30° to 45°, and low Fowler, where the head is slightly elevated.

20. Body Positions (cont’d)
recumbent position: lying down in any position
Sims position: lying on left side with right knee drawn up and with left arm drawn behind, parallel to the back
supine position: lying on back, facing upward
Trendelenburg position: lying on back with body tilted so that the head is lower than the feet
Identify when each type of position would be used in the field.

21. Review Question
Have students label the illustrations with the correct body position terms.
Answers: 1) Fowler position, 2) Trendelenburg position
Copyright © 2014, 2012, 2009, 2005, 2002, 1998, 1994, 1989, 1985 by Mosby, Inc., an affiliate of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

22. Chapter 3
Objective 5: Define, pronounce, and spell terms used to describe the abdominopelvic regions.

23. Abdominopelvic Regions
To assist medical personnel in locating medical problems with greater accuracy and for identification purposes, the abdomen is divided into nine regions:
hypochondriac (right & left)
epigastric
lumbar (right & left)
umbilical
iliac (right & left) (also called inguinal regions)
hypogastric
What does abdominopelvic mean? Answer: it refers to the combination of the abdominal and pelvic cavities.
The origin of the word hypochondriac is from the Greek hypo, meaning “under,” and chondros, meaning “cartilage.” It was devised by Hippocrates.
Investigate a new iteration of hypochondria: cyberchondria.
Where is the umbilical region?

24. Abdominopelvic Regions (cont’d)
What body organs are found in each of these regions?
Note that the iliac region starts near lower part of the ilium of the pelvis. Also called the inguinal regions.

25. Objective 6: Identify and spell the four abdominopelvic quadrants.
Chapter 3
Objective 6: Identify and spell the four abdominopelvic quadrants.

26. Abdominopelvic Quadrants (animation on Student Evolve site)
What purposes are served by dividing the abdominopelvic region into quadrants?

27. Review Question
Have students label the diagram with abdominopelvic quadrants.
Answers:
1) right upper quadrant (RUQ)
2) left upper quadrant (LUQ)
3) right lower quadrant (RLQ)
4) left lower quadrant (LLQ)

28. Chapter 3
Objective 7: Interpret the meaning of abbreviations presented in this chapter.

29. Abbreviations ant AP inf lat LLQ LUQ med PA RLQ RUQ sup
What are the abbreviations that relate to abdominopelvic quadrants?
What are the abbreviations for anteroposterior and posteroanterior, and what are the meanings of these directional terms?

30. Chapter 3
Objective 8: Interpret, read, and comprehend medical language in simulated medical statements, documents, and electronic health records.

31. Medical Document
The patient presented to her physician with pain in the right lumbar region and right unilateral leg pain. The pain was felt in the posterior portion of the leg and radiated to the distal lateral portion of the extremity. There was some proximal muscle weakness reported of the affected leg. A lumbar spine radiograph was normal. If the pain does not respond to antiinflammatory medication, she will be referred to an orthopedist.
Ask students to pronounce and define the bolded terms.