Lecture Notes: Basics for Anatomy and Physiology

I.

Body Planes/sections, anatomical terms, body movements

A. Anatomical Position:
1. Palms facing forward
2. All movements come from this position
B. Planes of the body:
1. Median plane
a) Cuts vertically in equal halves
2. Sagittal plane
a) Cuts vertically but does not need to
be equal
3. Frontal (coronal)
a) Divides body into front and dorsal
halves
4. Transverse
a) Cuts body parallel to floor
C. Anatomy terms:
1. Superficial (closer to skin), intermediate, deep
2. Superior (head), Inferior (caudal)
3. Anterior (forward), Posterior (backward, behind)
4. Medial (closer to midpoint of body), Lateral
(further away from midpoint)
5. Proximal (closer to the attachment of limb), distal
(further away from attachment of limb)
6. Palmar (hands), Dorsal (back part of hand)
7. Sole (sole of foot), Dorsum (top of foot)
D. Movements of the body:
1. Flexion- decreasing the angle
2. Extension- increasing the angle
a) Both occur in the sagittal plane
3. Abduction- moving away from midline
4. Adduction- moving close to midline
a) Occur in frontal plane
5. Medial rotation- anterior surface comes closer to
midline
6. Lateral rotation- anterior surface gets further away
from midline
a) Occur in transverse plane
7. Circumduction- making a circle with either the hip
or shoulder

E. Movements of various body parts:

1. Ankle movements:
a) Dorsiflexion- Bending in the
direction of the dorsum- upper surface (superior surface)
b) Plantar flexion- Foot or toes flex
downward toward the sole
c) Eversion - abduction movement
d) Inversion - adduction movement
2. Trunk movements:
a) Lateral bending
b) Rotation
3. Shoulder movements:
a) Elevation- shoulders go up
b) Depression- shoulders go down
c) Retraction- shoulder blade moves
back
d) Protraction- shoulder blade moves
forward
e) Rotation
4. Wrist movements:
a) Flexion
b) Extension
c) Pronation
d) Supination

The Skeletal System:

Axial Skeleton:
Skull, ribs and spine (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacrum)
Appendicular skeleton:
Upper and lower extremities
Shoulder and pelvic girdles
Function of skeletal system:
1.) Support for the body
2.) Protect vital structures
3.) Movement (with muscle attachment)
4.) Storage (calcium)
5.) Supply new blood cells

Skeletal System (cont.)

Cervical (7)
Thoracic (12)
Lumbar (5)
Sacrum
Upper extremity:
Shoulder
Elbow
Wrist

Muscular System:
Skeletal, cardiac striated and smooth muscles
Skeletal Muscles:
Attach to bone, cartilage, ligaments or fascia
Muscle fiber contraction- pull
Requires a fixed position
Cardiac Striated (involuntary):
Pumps blood
Smooth muscle (involuntary):
Blood vessels and hollow organs
Muscular System- Skeletal
Upper Extremity:
Trapezius
Deltoid
Biceps brachii
Triceps brachii
Rotator cuff (keeps ball in socket)
Supraspinatus
Infraspinatus
Teres minor
Subscapularis (can't feel since its anterior of
shoulder blade)
Lower Extremity:
Quadriceps (4)
Rectus femoris
Vastus lateralis
Vastus medialis
Vastus Intermedius
Hamstrings (3)
Biceps femoris
Semitendinosus
Semimembranosus
Gluteus Maximus
Gastrocnemius
Soleus
Tibialis anterior
Joints of the body:
Union between 2 or more bones (or skeletal parts)
3 types of joints:
1.) Fibrous- united by fibrous tissue (sutures of cranium,
interosseus membrane)
2.) Cartilaginous- United by hyaline cartilage or fibrocartilage
(growth plates, vertebral joints)
3.) Synovial- united by joint capsule (hip, shoulder, knee)

Central Nervous System:

Integrate/coordinate messages coming into/ out of nervous system
Two parts:
Brain
Thinking/learning, planning and executing motor
strategies
Spinal cord
Processes info from muscles, joints, skin
Posture and movement
Upper part of spinal cord control upper body and
lower part of spinal cord control lower body
Peripheral Nervous System:
All other nerves outside of brain and spinal cord
Conduct signals to and from the CNS
Sensory feedback from outside CNS
Voluntary actions from CNS
Somatic Nervous System:
Somatic Sensory system
Touch, pain, temperature and proprioception/ joint position
We are aware of these sensations
Somatic motor system
Innervates skeletal muscles to produce voluntary and reflexive
movements
Autonomic Nervous System:
Functions that are not under conscious control (involuntary)
Motor fibers stimulating:
Smooth (involuntary) muscle
Modified cardiac muscle (stimulating/conducting heart tissue)
Glandular cells
Two subdivisions:
Sympathetic: fight and flight, emergency responses
Parasympathetic: Rest and digest, body conservation

Cardiovascular/ Pulmonary system:

Heart
Receives and pumps blood throughout body
Right atrium/left atrium
Right ventricle/left ventricle
Arteries
Carries oxygenated blood away from heart
Veins
Carries low or deoxygenated blood to the heart
Capillaries
Exchange of oxygenated/deoxygenated blood
Connects arteries/veins
Lungs
Provides oxygen to blood supply

Parts of the cardiovascular system:

Heart
Right atrium to right ventricle to lungs
Lungs to left atrium to left ventricle to body
Superior vena cava
Low oxygen blood from lower body
Aorta
Pumps blood to the body
Pulmonary artery
Low oxygen blood
Pulmonary veins
Oxygenated blood