Shoulder Flexion

Anatomical terminology is a form of scientific terminology used by anatomists, zoologists, and health professionals such as doctors.

Anatomical terminology uses many unique terms, suffixes, and prefixes deriving from Ancient Greek and Latin. These terms can be confusing to those unfamiliar with them, but can be more precise, reducing ambiguity and errors. Also, since these anatomical terms are not used in everyday conversation, their meanings are less likely to change, and less likely to be misinterpreted.

To illustrate how inexact day-to-day language can be: a scar "above the wrist" could be located on the forearm two or three inches away from the hand or at the base of the hand; and could be on the palm-side or back-side of the arm. By using precise anatomical terminology such ambiguity is eliminated.

An international standard for anatomical terminology, ''Terminologia Anatomica'' has been created.

Word formation

Anatomical terminology has quite regular morphology: the same prefixes and suffixes are used to add meanings to different roots. The root of a term often refers to an organ or tissue. For example, the Latin names of structures such as '' musculus biceps brachii'' can be split up and refer to, ''musculus'' for muscle, ''biceps'' for "two-headed", ''brachii'' as in the brachial region of the arm. The first word describes what is being spoken about, the second describes it, and the third points to location.

When describing the position of anatomical structures, structures may be described according to the anatomical landmark they are near. These landmarks may include structures, such as the '' umbilicus'' or ''sternum,'' or anatomical ''lines'', such as the ''midclavicular line'' from the centre of the clavicle. The ''cephalon'' or cephalic region refers to the head. This area is further differentiated into the ''cranium'' (skull), ''facies'' (face), ''frons'' (forehead), ''oculus'' (eye area), ''auris'' (ear), ''bucca'' (cheek), nasus (nose), ''os'' (mouth), and ''mentum'' (chin). The neck area is called the ''cervix'' or cervical region. Examples of structures named according to this include the ''frontalis muscle, submental lymph nodes, buccal membrane'' and ''orbicularis oculi muscle.''

Sometimes, unique terminology is used to reduce confusion in different parts of the body. For example, different terms are used when it comes to the skull in compliance with its embryonic origin and its tilted position compared to in other animals. Here, ''rostral'' refers to proximity to the front of the nose, and is particularly used when describing the skull. Similarly, different terminology is often used in the arms, in part to reduce ambiguity as to what the "front", "back", "inner" and "outer" surfaces are. For this reason, the terms below are used:
* ''Radial'' referring to the radius bone, seen laterally in the standard anatomical position.
* ''Ulnar'' referring to the ulna bone, medially positioned when in the standard anatomical position.
Other terms are also used to describe the movement and actions of the hands and feet, and other structures such as the eye.

History

International morphological terminology is used by the colleges of medicine and dentistry and other areas of the health sciences. It facilitates communication and exchanges between scientists from different countries of the world and it is used daily in the fields of research, teaching and medical care. The international morphological terminology refers to morphological sciences as a biological sciences' branch. In this field, the form and structure are examined as well as the changes or developments in the organism. It is descriptive and functional. Basically, it covers the gross anatomy and the microscopic (histology and cytology) of living beings. It involves both development anatomy (embryology) and the anatomy of the adult. It also includes comparative anatomy between different species. The vocabulary is extensive, varied and complex, and requires a systematic presentation.

Within the international field, a group of experts reviews, analyzes and discusses the morphological terms of the structures of the human body, forming today's Terminology Committee (FICAT) from the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA). It deals with the anatomical, histological and embryologic terminology. In the Latin American field, there are meetings called Iberian Latin American Symposium Terminology (SILAT), where a group of experts of the Pan American Association of Anatomy (PAA) that speak Spanish and Portuguese, disseminates and studies the international morphological terminology.

The current international standard for human anatomical terminology is based on the Terminologia Anatomica (TA). It was developed by the Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FCAT) and the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) and was released in 1998. It supersedes the previous standard, ''Nomina Anatomica''. ''Terminologia Anatomica'' contains terminology for about 7500 human gross (macroscopic) anatomical structures. For microanatomy, known as histology, a similar standard exists in Terminologia Histologica, and for embryology, the study of development, a standard exists in Terminologia Embryologica. These standards specify generally accepted names that can be used to refer to histological and embryological structures in journal articles, textbooks, and other areas. As of September 2016, two sections of the Terminologia Anatomica, including central nervous system and peripheral nervous system, were merged to form the Terminologia Neuroanatomica.

Recently, the Terminologia Anatomica has been perceived with a considerable criticism regarding its content including coverage, grammar and spelling mistakes, inconsistencies, and errors.

Location

Anatomical terminology is often chosen to highlight the relative location of body structures. For instance, an anatomist might describe one band of tissue as "inferior to" another or a physician might describe a tumor as "superficial to" a deeper body structure.

Anatomical position

Anatomical terms used to describe location are based on a body positioned in what is called the standard anatomical position. This position is one in which a person is standing, feet apace, with palms forward and thumbs facing outwards. Just as maps are normally oriented with north at the top, the standard body "map," or anatomical position, is that of the body standing upright, with the feet at shoulder width and parallel, toes forward. The upper limbs are held out to each side, and the palms of the hands face forward.

Using the standard anatomical position reduces confusion. It means that regardless of the position of a body, the position of structures within it can be described without ambiguity.

Regions

In terms of anatomy, the body is divided into regions. In the front, the trunk is referred to as the "thorax" and "abdomen". The back as a general area is the dorsum or dorsal area, and the lower back is the lumbus or lumbar region. The shoulder blades are the scapular area and the breastbone is the sternal region. The abdominal area is the region between the chest and the pelvis. The breast is also called the mammary region, the armpit as the axilla and axillary, and the navel as the umbilicus and umbilical. The pelvis is the lower torso, between the abdomen and the thighs. The groin, where the thigh joins the trunk, are the inguen and inguinal area.

The entire arm is referred to as the brachium and brachial, the front of the elbow as the antecubitis and antecubital, the back of the elbow as the olecranon or olecranal, the forearm as the antebrachium and antebrachial, the wrist as the carpus and carpal area, the hand as the manus and manual, the palm as the palma and palmar, the thumb as the pollex, and the fingers as the digits, phalanges, and phalangeal. The buttocks are the gluteus or gluteal region and the pubic area is the pubis.

Anatomists divide the lower limb into the thigh (the part of the limb between the hip and the knee) and the leg (which refers only to the area of the limb between the knee and the ankle). The thigh is the femur and the femoral region. The kneecap is the patella and patellar while the back of the knee is the popliteus and popliteal area. The leg (between the knee and the ankle) is the crus and crural area, the lateral aspect of the leg is the peroneal area, and the calf is the sura and sural region. The ankle is the tarsus and tarsal, and the heel is the calcaneus or calcaneal. The foot is the pes and pedal region, and the sole of the foot is the planta and plantar. As with the fingers, the toes are also called the digits, phalanges, and phalangeal area. The big toe is referred to as the hallux.

Abdomen

To promote clear communication, for instance about the location of a patient's abdominal pain or a suspicious mass, the abdominal cavity can be divided into either nine regions or four quadrants.

;Quadrants
The abdomen may be divided into four quadrants, more commonly used in medicine, subdivides the cavity with one horizontal and one vertical line that intersect at the patient's umbilicus (navel). The right upper quadrant (RUQ) includes the lower right ribs, right side of the liver, and right side of the transverse colon. The left upper quadrant (LUQ) includes the lower left ribs, stomach, spleen