Which plane divides the body

The cranial cavity. Image from Human Anatomy Atlas. The thoracic cavity. The abdominal cavity. The pelvic cavity. This post was originally published in It has since been updated with new body cavity images from Human Anatomy Atlas Be sure to subscribe to the Visible Body Blog for more anatomy awesomeness!

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Welcome to the Visible Body Blog! Anatomy and Physiology: Anatomical Planes and Cavities. Here is a list of commonly used planes: Frontal Coronal plane Divides the body into anterior front and posterior back portions Transverse plane Divides the body into superior upper and inferior lower portions Sagittal plane Vertical plane that divides the body into right and left sides.

Midsagittal plane Divides the body at midline into equal right and left sides. Oblique plane Divides the body at an angle. Before we get into the following learning units, which will provide more detailed discussion of topics on different human body systems, it is necessary to learn some useful terms for describing body structure.

Knowing these terms will make it much easier for us to understand the content of the following learning units. Three groups of terms are introduced here:.

Directional terms describe the positions of structures relative to other structures or locations in the body. Superior or cranial - toward the head end of the body; upper example, the hand is part of the superior extremity.

Inferior or caudal - away from the head; lower example, the foot is part of the inferior extremity. Anterior or ventral - front example, the kneecap is located on the anterior side of the leg. Posterior or dorsal - back example, the shoulder blades are located on the posterior side of the body.

Medial - toward the midline of the body example, the middle toe is located at the medial side of the foot. Lateral - away from the midline of the body example, the little toe is located at the lateral side of the foot.

For instance the knee is inferior to the hip, while the elbow is superior to the knee and the hip. The most inferior part of the body is the sole of the foot or plantar region. The abdomen is located below the head. Inferior is the correct anatomical term to describe one body part that is located below another body part.

The coronal plane is what divides the body from "front" and "back". There is no such thing as a coronus in human anatomy or physiology.

The area over the cranium is known as the cranial region. The neck region is also know as the cervical region. A horizontal plane that divides the body into superior and inferior regions is known as a transverse plane and a vertical plane that divides the body into left and right regions is known as a sagittal plane. Plantar flexion is the movement where the angle between the sole of the foot and the back of the leg decreases. Plantar flexors are part of the posterior compartment of the lower leg, and consist of flexor hallucis longus and flexor digitorum.

These muscles not only work in plantar flexion but also flex the phalanges of the foot toes. Eversion is the movement of the sole of the foot away from the median plane; inversion is the movement of the sole towards the median plane.

A sagittal plane divides the body into left and right portions, a frontal or coronal plane is perpendicular to a sagittal plane and divides the body into anterior and posterior portions. A vertical plane is not a term used in human anatomy. The abdomen can be divided into regions to allow for improved definition of anatomical location. One commonly used division uses a nine region scheme dividing the abdomen into three vertical sections by drawing lines at bilateral mid-clavicular lines, and horizontally into three regions by drawing lines at the transpyloric and transtubercular planes.

Starting superiorly, the abdomen is divided into the right and left hypochondriums right and left upper quadrants which are inferior to the thorax in the area of the lower ribs at the lower costal cartilages.

Between the left and right hypochondrium upper medial aspect of the abdomen lies the epigastric region. Below these regions lie the left and right lumbar sections with the umbilical region lying medially. Most caudally the left and right iliac regions bound the medial hypogastric region. Which of the following lists describes structures that could all be found in one transverse plane? The transverse process of T5 vertebra, spinous process of T4 vertebra, right fifth rib will all be seen in one transverse section.

This is because the spinous process from the vertebrae above in this case T4 in an downward pointing angle covers the superior two thirds of the posterior side of the vertebral body directly below it. Additionally you will see the rib that corresponds to the vertebral body seen, in this case rib 5. A plane of section that divides the anterior half of the human body from the posterior half is an example of which of these?

A coronal section frontal plane describes a plane that divides the body into ventral front and dorsal back sections. A transverse plane is a horizontal plane that divides the body into superior and inferior parts. A sagittal plane divides the body into right and left halves. Inversion describes this motion.

Eversion is the opposite of inversion, where the toes move laterally outwards. Dorsiflexion is when the toes move up, and adduction refers to medial movement of the limbs rather than the foot.

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