INTRODUCTION
TO ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
UNIT- I
Anatomy AND Physiology
• . Anatomy is the study of the structure and relationship
between body parts.
• Physiology is the study of the function of body parts
and the body as a whole
BRANCHES OF ANATOMY
• Gross (macroscopic) anatomy is the study of body
parts visible to the naked eye, such as the heart or
bones.
• Histology is the study of tissues at the microscopic
level.
• Cytology is the study of cells at the microscopic level.
• Neurophysiology is the study of how the nervous
system functions.
ANATOMICAL POSITION
• Anatomical position is the specific alignment of the body
used as the position of reference for describing the
anatomical planes and axes
• In this position, a person is standing upright with the lower
limbs together or slightly apart, feet flat on the floor and
facing forward, upper limbs at the sides with the palms
facing forward and thumbs pointing away from the body,
and head and eyes directed straight ahead. In addition,
the arms are usually placed slightly apart from the body
so that the hands do not touch the sides.
ANATOMICAL TERMS
• Planes of the Body:
• Coronal Plane (Frontal Plane) - A vertical plane running from side to
side; divides the body or any of its parts into anterior and posterior
portions.
• Sagittal Plane (Lateral Plane) - A vertical plane running from front
to back; divides the body or any of its parts into right and left sides.
• Axial Plane (Transverse Plane) - A horizontal plane; divides the
body or any of its parts into upper and lower parts.
• Median plane - Sagittal plane through the midline of the body;
divides the body or any of its parts into right and left halves.
Directional Terms
• Directional terms describe the positions of structures relative to other
structures or locations in the body.
• 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).
• Proximal - toward or nearest the trunk or the point of origin of a part
(example, the proximal end of the femur joins with the pelvic bone).
• Distal - away from or farthest from the trunk or the point or origin of a part
(example, the hand is located at the distal end of the forearm).
Body Cavities
• The cavities, or spaces, of the body contain the internal organs, or
viscera.
• The two main cavities are called the ventral and dorsal cavities.
• The ventral is the larger cavity and is subdivided into two parts
(thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities) by the diaphragm, a dome-
shaped respiratory muscle.
BODY
CAVITIES
DEFINITION OF CAVITIES:
• The cavities, or spaces, of the body contain the internal organs, or
viscera.
• The two main cavities are called the ventral and dorsal
cavities.
•.
VENTRAL CAVITY
• The ventral is the larger cavity and is subdivided into two parts:
• THORACIC CAVITY AND ABDOMINAL CAVITY by the diaphragm, a dome-
shaped respiratory muscle.
Dorsal cavity
• The smaller of the two main cavities is called the dorsal cavity.
• As its name implies, it contains organs lying more posterior in the
body.
• The dorsal cavity, again, can be divided into two portions.
• The upper portion, or the cranial cavity, houses the brain, and
• the lower portion, or vertebral canal houses the spinal cord.
MOVEMENTS ALONG THE
PLAIN
• Movements in an axis and along a plane
• Bringing together planes and axes, we will describe the
movements we used above.
• Flexion and extension of the hip occur in
the sagittal plane, and about the coronal axis.
• Abduction and adduction of the shoulder occur
in the coronal plane, and about the sagittal axis.
• Left and right rotation of the atlantoaxial joint occurs
in the transverse plane, and about the vertical axis.
• Now, let’s make some more sense of what these
movements actually are!
Flexion and extension
• When talking about flexion and extension, we are
usually referring to these movements as they occur
about the coronal axis, and along the sagittal plane.
• Flexion refers to decreasing a joint angle, and
extension to increasing the joint angle back to
resting anatomical position.
•
Abduction and adduction
• Abduction and adduction refer to movements made
about a sagittal axis and along the coronal plane.
• Abduction is moving a body part away from its
resting anatomical position in the coronal plane;
• Adduction is returning it to its normal resting
position (includes ‘hyperadduction’)
Internal and external rotation (medial and lateral rotation)
• Rotation refers to movements made about the
longitudinal axis and in the transverse plane.
• Internal rotation is rotating a joint towards the midline
and external rotation is rotating a joint away from the
midline.
Circumduction
• Circumduction is a compound movement that occurs
only at ball and socket joints, which can perform
multiple movement types.
• It is a combination of:
• Flexion and extension
• Abduction and adduction
• Rotation
• Circumduction is described as a circular
motion utilising each of these movements at different
parts of the circular motion.
• Given that the shoulder and hip are the only joints to use
circumduction and they have a relatively ‘fixed’ joint, the
movement is more conical
Pronation and supination
• Pronation and supination occur at pivot joints. The most important
example of this is the radiohumeral joint and the union of the radius
and ulna through the interosseous membrane.
• To remember pronation, think of lying prone (on your belly). Thus,
pronation of the radiohumeral joint refers to the palm of the
hand facing the ground.
• To remember supination, think of holding a bowl of soup. You hold a
bowl of soup with your palms facing up, this is the position of
supination.
Dorsiflexion and plantarflexion
• The foot is a little special and has four movements
specific to it. The first
two, dorsiflexion and plantarflexion, refer to the way
the foot moves about the coronal axis and along
the sagittal plane.
• Dorsiflexion brings the dorsum (back) of the foot
back toward the tibia, so the toes are beginning to
point towards the sky.
• Plantarflexion refers to pointing the foot away from the
tibia and down into the ground.
Eversion and inversion
• The second set of movements specific to the foot
are eversion and inversion. These movements occur
about the sagittal axis and along the coronal plane.
• Eversion refers to bringing the soles of the feet out, so
they are facing away from the midline of the body.
• Inversion refers to bringing the soles of the feet in, so
they are facing towards the midline of the body (and
each other).
Opposition and re-position
• Opposition of the thumb and little finger refers to the
movement of bringing the pads of the thumb and little
finger together in the midline of the hand. Technically,
the thumb can be opposed to each of the other fingers
on the same hand.
• Re-position refers to returning the thumb and little (or
one of the others!) finger back to resting anatomical
position.