Appendicular is a term which refers to the appendages and limbs, structures which are connected to the main portion of the body. For this reason, a deeper dive into these terms is required. At Union Test Prep, we are a small team dedicated to bringing the best test-prep material to you, free of cost. An anatomical plane is a hypothetical plane used to transect the body, in order to describe the location of structures or the direction of movements. A midsagittal plane divides the body exactly in the middle, making two equal right and left halves. A midsagittal plane divides the body exactly in the middle, making two equal right and left halves. Figure 4. This means that a parasagittal plane can divide the body from back to front anywhere except through the middle portion of the body, anywhere that wouldn’t create a symmetrical image. Unless otherwise noted, LibreTexts content is licensed by CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. OpenStax College, Introduction. Two of these planes are vertical (sagittal and frontal), running from top to bottom. Ready to test your knowledge? This is termed secondary radial symmetry. These muscles come down at an angle and are located laterally to your abdominal muscles. The abdominal region can be divided into many different smaller regions composed of the various groups of tissues and organs. The midsagittal plane or median plane divides the body into two parts. When thinking of a body plane, picture an imaginary flat surface resembling a glass rectangle, which divides the body into two portions. The butterfly is bilaterally symmetrical. In anatomy it is used to describe the placement of body parts. The left upper quadrant is where part of the stomach, the pancreas, the liver, the spleen, and the left kidney can be found. The transverse plane can be thought of as a horizontal window that runs through the body’s midsection, near the groin or hips. We also acknowledge previous National Science Foundation support under grant numbers 1246120, 1525057, and 1413739. It divides the body into left and right halves. Superficial structures are those that are closer to the surface or exterior of the body, as opposed to the body structures which are closer to the center of the body, the interior portion. Have questions or comments? As an example, the inferior vena cava carries blood from the lower portion of the body towards the heart while the superior vena cava carries blood away from the head. Anatomy and Physiology of Animals/Body Organisation. The ventral cavity contains the thoracic cavity, which in turn contains the pleural cavity around the lungs and the pericardial cavity, which surrounds the heart. In human and animal anatomy, three principal planes are used: The sagittal plane or lateral plane (longitudinal, anteroposterior) is a plane parallel to the sagittal suture.It divides the body into left and right. The frontal plane divides the front and back, and the transverse plane divides the body into upper and lower portions. The midsagittal plane creates a roughly mirror, symmetrical image by dividing the body into equal left and right regions. The ventral cavity is divided by the diaphragm, a long stretch of skeletal muscles located beneath the lungs, with the two different regions being called the superior and anterior regions. Subsequently, question is, what are … ALL Rights Reserved. (credit: modification of work by NCI). Let's continue studying where you left off. Frontal plane. The adrenal glands are positioned at the top of the kidneys, and the “ad-” prefix means toward or near. It also separates the anterior and posterior portions. The cranial cavity contains the cerebrospinal fluid, the brain’s meninges, and the brain itself. Shown are the planes of a quadruped goat and a bipedal human. [ "article:topic", "authorname:boundless", "showtoc:no" ], http://cnx.org/content/m44728/latest...ol11448/latest, http://cnx.org/content/m44730/latest...ol11448/latest, http://cnx.org/content/m44728/latest...e_33_00_01.jpg, http://cnx.org/content/m44730/latest...e_33_01_01.jpg, http://cnx.org/content/m44730/latest...e_33_01_02.jpg, http://cnx.org/content/m44730/latest...e_33_01_03.jpg, http://cnx.org/content/m44730/latest/?collection=col11448/latest, http://cnx.org/content/m44728/latest/Figure_33_00_01.jpg, http://cnx.org/content/m44730/latest...e_33_01_04.jpg, http://cnx.org/content/m44730/latest...e_33_01_05.jpg, Describe the major body planes and cavities of animals. The posterior (dorsal) cavity is a continuous cavity that includes the cranial cavity (brain) and the spinal cavity (spinal cord). OpenStax College, Anatomical Terminology. frontal (coronal) plane. You can take sagittal planes a step further and add a prefix to help you identify the type of sagittal plane. For example, during human embryonic development the coronal plane is horizontal, but becomes vertical as the embryo develops into a fetus. The largest cavity within the human body is the ventral body cavity, which actually contains multiple cavities (the thoracic and abdominal-pelvic body cavities). In contrast to radial symmetry, which is best suited for stationary or limited-motion lifestyles, bilateral symmetry allows for streamlined and directional motion. (credit a: modification of work by Robert Freiburger; credit b: modification of work by Samuel Chow), Figure 3. 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A frontal plane (also called a coronal plane) separates the front from the back. However, without placing them into context and giving examples, they mean relatively little. The midsagittal plane is also sometimes referred to as the median plane. The midsagittal (median) plane is in the midline through the center of the body, and all other sagittal planes are parallel to it. The ventral cavity also contains the abdominopelvic cavity, which can be separated into the abdominal and the pelvic cavities. Body planes have several uses within the anatomy field, including in medical imaging, descriptions of body motion, and embryology. In addition, the arms are part of the brachial region, a subsection of the appendicular region. Alternatively, think of the horizon, which is the horizontal boundary between the earth and the sky, and you’ll remember the direction of the horizontal (transverse) plane.