Know Your Directional Terms and Body Planes

Body Planes

Anatomical directional terms are like the directions on a compass rose of a map. Similar to the directions, North, South, East, and West, they can be used to describe the locations of structures in relation to other structures or locations in the body.

These terms are very useful when describing the locations of structures to be studied in human anatomy classes and when performing dissections.

Anatomical directional terms can also be applied to the planes of the body. Imagine a person standing in an upright position. Now imagine dissecting this person with imaginary vertical and horizontal planes. Anatomical planes can be used to describe any body part or an entire body.