INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN

ANATOMY
SOPH 141
LECTURE 1

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 COURSE OBJECTIVES
• By the end of this topic students will be able
to:
• Define anatomy with the divisions
• Explain anatomical positions, directional
terms and sections or planes
• State the major body regions, cavities, content
and membranes
• Describe the organisation of human body

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 Materials and References
• Gartner P. L. And Hiatt L. J. (2007). Color Textbook of Histology, 3r ed. Elsevier Inc.
• Drake L. R., Vogl W. And Mitchell M. W. A. (2007). Gray’s Anatomy for Students. Elsevier
• Ross, M. H. and Pawlina W. (2011). Histology: a text and atlas: with correlated cell and
molecular biology—6th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a Wolters Kluwer business.
• Sinnatamby, C. S. (2011). Last’s anatomy, Regional and Applied. Churchill Livingstone
Elsevier.
• Mescher A. L. (2010). Junqueira's Basic Histology, Twelfth Edition. The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.
• Sadler (2012). Langman’s Medical embryology, 12th Edition. Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins, a Wolters Kluwer business. 351 West Camden Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.
• McMinn, R. M. H. (2009). Last anatomy, Regional and Applied. Churchill Livingstone,
Robert Stevenson House, 1-3 Baxter's Place, Leith Walk, Edinburgh EH I 3AF).
• Moore, K.L. and Dally, A. F. (1999). Clinically oriented Anatomy. Fourth edition.
Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
• Moore, K. L, Dalley, A. F., & Agur, A. M. R. (2006): Clinically oriented Anatomy. Lippincott
Williams and Wilkins.
• Moore, K. L, Dalley, A. F., & Agur, A. M. R. (2011): Essential Clinical Anatomy. Lippincott
Williams and Wilkins.

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 HISTORY AND DEFINITION OF
ANATOMY
• First basic medical science studies begun in
Egypt.
• Hippocrates is the father of MEDICINE and
founder of the Science of Anatomy.
• The nature of the body is the beginning of
Medical Sciences.
• Human anatomy is the science concerned with
the structure of the human body.
• The term anatomy is derived from a Greek word
meaning “to cut up”.
• The word anatomize was more commonly used
than the word dissect 4
 HISTORY AND DEF. OF ANATOMY
• Aristotle (384-322BC) was the first person to use
the term “anatome”.
• Anatomy includes those structures that can be
seen grossly (without the aid of magnification)
and microscopically (with the aid of
magnification).
• Anatomy is the study of the structure of the body
and the physical relationships involved between
body systems.
• Human anatomy is the study of the structure and
organization of the human body and body parts. 5
 APPROACHES/DIVISIONS IN STUDYING
ANATOMY

• Three main approaches/divisions:

1. Developmental anatomy
2. Microscopic anatomy and
3. Gross or macroscopic Anatomy

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 Developmental Anatomy

• Embryology – study of developmental changes of

the body before birth.

• From a single cell to a baby in 9 months; a

developmental process that represents an
amazing integration of increasingly complex
phenomena.

• The study of these phenomena is called

embryology, and the field includes investigations
of the molecular, cellular, and structural factors
contributing to the formation of an organism. 7
 MICROSCOPIC ANATOMY

• Cytology – study of the cell

• Histology – study of tissues

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 GROSS OR MACROSCOPIC

• Regional /topographical anatomy; studying

the body by region, such as the thorax and
abdomen

• Systemic anatomy – gross anatomy of the

body studied by system.

• Surface Anatomy – study of internal

structures as they relate to the overlying
skin
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 Basic Anatomical Terminology

• Anatomical position
• Anatomical planes
• Anatomical sections and
• Anatomy directional terms

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 ANATOMICAL POSITION
• It is the position of the human body that is adopted
worldwide for giving anatomicomedical descriptions.

• All anatomical descriptions are expressed in relation

to the anatomical position to ensure that descriptions
are not ambiguous.

• The anatomical position refers to persons ---

regardless of the actual position they may be in --- as
if they were standing erect, with their
• Head, eyes, and toes directed anteriorly (forward)
• Upper limbs by the sides with the palms facing
anteriorly.
• Lower limbs together with the feet directed anteriorly.
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 Anatomical Position
• Standardized position from which to describe directional
terms
– Standing upright
– Facing the observer, head level
– Eyes facing forward
– Feet flat on the floor
– Arms at the sides
– Palms turned forward

• Prone position = lying face down

• Supine position = lying face up

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 ANATOMICAL PLANES
• Three major groups of planes pass through the body in
the anatomical position.

• Coronal plane/frontal plane: divides the body into

anterior and posterior parts

• Sagittal plane: divides the body into left and right parts

• Median sagittal plane: divides the body into right and

left equal halves

• Transverse, horizontal, or axial planes: divide the body

into superior and inferior parts
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SAGITTAL PLANE

• Sagittal plane
– divides the body or an organ
into left and right sides

• Midsagittal plane
– produces equal halves

• Parasagittal plane
– produces unequal halves

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 SECTIONS OF THE BODY

• Longitudinal sections run lengthwise in the long axis

of the body or any of its parts and the term.

• Transverse sections or cross sections are slices of

the body or, its parts that cut at right angles to the
longitudinal axis of the body or any of its parts.

• Oblique sections: section deviate from

perpendicular and horizontal planes.
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 Terms to describe location

• Body relationship and comparison of parts;

• Superior and inferior
• Lateral and medial.
• Proximal and distal
• Cranial and caudal
• Superficial and deep

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Major Directional Terms

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 SURFACE ANATOMY
• Body regions
• Body cavities
• Contents
• Membranes covering

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 BODY REGIONS

• Axial – head, neck, and trunk

• Appendicular – appendages or limbs

• Specific regional terminology

• Clinical terminology based on a Greek or

Latin root word. 23
 BODY CAVITIES
• Two main:
1. Dorsal cavity protects the nervous system, and is
divided into two subdivisions:
a. Cranial cavity is within the skull and encases the brain
b. Vertebral cavity runs within the vertebral column and
encases the spinal cord

2. Ventral cavity houses the internal organs

(viscera), and is divided into two subdivisions:
a. Thoracic and
b. Abdominopelvic
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 OTHER BODY CAVITIES
• Oral and digestive – mouth and cavities of the
digestive organs

• Nasal –located within and posterior to the nose

• Orbital – house the eyes

• Middle ear – contain bones (ossicles) that

transmit sound vibrations
• Synovial – joint cavities
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 THORACIC CAVITY

• Thoracic cavity is subdivided into pleural cavities,

the mediastinum (pericardial cavity)

– Pleural cavities – each houses a lungs

– Mediastinum – Midline wall of tissue that

contains the pericardial cavity (heart), and
surrounds the remaining thoracic organs (great
vessels, esophagus, trachea and thymus gland).

– Pericardial cavity – encloses the heart 27

 MEDIASTINUM

Midline wall of tissue that contains the heart, great

vessels, esophagus, trachea and thymus gland).
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 MEMBRANES IN THE THORACIC
CAVITY (PLEURAL & PERICARDIAL)

Visceral pleura clings to surface of lungs --- Parietal pleura

lines chest wall.
Visceral pericardium covers heart --- Parietal pericardium
lines pericardial sac 29
 ABDOMINOPELVIC REGION
• The abdominopelvic region is divided into either four
quadrants or nine regions.

• Thus, clinicians use nine regions of the abdominal cavity

to describe the location of abdominal organs or pains.

• The nine regions are delineated by four planes.

• The quadrants are divided by the umbilicus line

(horizontal) and the median line (vertical).

• The quadrants are used to locate the site of an

abdominopelvic abnormality in clinical studies.
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 QUADRANTS OF THE ABDOMINOPELVIC
CAVITY
• Right upper – liver, gall bladder, duodenum, head of
pancreas, hepatic flexure of colon (also known as right
colic flexure)

• Left upper – stomach, spleen, left lobe of liver, body of

pancreas, left kidney + adrenal gland, splenic flexure of
colon (left colic flexure), parts of transverse + descending
colon

• Right lower – caecum, appendix, ascending colon, small

intestine

• Left lower – descending colon, sigmoid colon + small

intestine
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 Abdominopelvic Quadrants
• Right upper quadrant

• Left upper quadrant

• Right lower quadrant

• Left lower quadrants

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 Nine regions of the Abdomino-pelvic
cavity
• The areas are divided horizontally by the superior TPP
(transpyloric plane – also known as subcostal line;
located halfway between the jugular notch and pubic
smphysis / between xiphoid process and umbilicus
• The upper horizontal plane is at L1/9th CC tip) and the
inferior horizontal plane: TTP (transtubercular plane;
passes through the tubercles of the iliac crests, at L5).

• The two vertical planes runs through the midway of

clavicle to midway of inguinal ligament

• The nine areas are used to describe the locations of

organs more easily.
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Nine regions of the Abdomino-pelvic
cavity

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 ORGANS LOCATED UNDER THE
REGION
• Right hypochondriac – liver, gall bladder, small
intestine, ascending colon + transverse colon
(right colic flexure), right kidney
• Epigastric – stomach, liver, pancreas,
duodenum, transverse colon, spleen
• Left hypochondriac – stomach, liver (tip),
pancreas (tail), small intestine, transverse +
descending colon (left colic flexure), left
kidney, spleen
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 ORGANS LOCATED UNDER THE
REGION
• Right lumbar – liver, small intestine, ascending
colon, right kidney
• Umbilical – stomach, pancreas, small
intestine, transverse colon
• Left lumbar – small intestine, descending
colon, left kidney

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 ORGANS LOCATED UNDER THE
REGION
• Right inguinal/iliac – small intestine, caecum,
appendix + ascending colon
• Hypogastric/suprapubic – small intestine,
sigmoid colon + rectum , bladder
• Left inguinal/iliac – small intestine,
descending + sigmoid colon

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 ABDOMINOPELVIC CAVITY
• The abdominopelvic cavity is separated from
the superior thoracic cavity by the dome-
shaped diaphragm.

• It is composed of two subdivisions

– Abdominal cavity – contains the stomach,
intestines, spleen, liver, and other abdominal
organs.

– Pelvic cavity – lies within the pelvis and contains

the urinary bladder, internal reproductive organs,
and rectum.
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 Serous Membranes
• Thin slippery membrane lines body cavities not open to
the outside. Has two layers:

a. Parietal layer lines walls of cavities

b. Visceral layer covers viscera within the cavities

• The space between the two layers contain serous fluid

which reduces friction between the two layers.

• Examples of serous membranes are:

1. Pleura covers the lungs
2. Pericardium covers the heart
3. Peritoneum lines the abdominopelvic cavity and covers
the abdominal organs
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 Peritoneum

• Visceral peritoneum --- serous membrane that covers the

abdominal viscera
• Parietal peritoneum --- serous membrane that lines the
abdominal wall
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Anatomical Terminology

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Prefixes Indicating Location, Direction, and Tendency
Ad- to, near, toward adrenal - near the kidney

Brady- slow bradycardia - slow heart beat

Con- with, together congenital - with birth

Contra- against contraindicated - not indicated

Epi- upon, on top of epidermis - upon the skin

Hypo- under, lower hypodermic - under the skin

Hyper- above, higher hyperactive - higher level activity

Infra- under, below infrapatellar - below the knee

Peri- around pericardium - sac around the heart

Post- after postmortem - after death

Super- above, on top superciliary - above the eyebrow

Supra- above, on top suprapubic - above the pubic bone

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 Prefixes Indicating Number and Measurement
Mono- one mononuclear - one nucleus
Bi- two bilateral - two sides
Di- two dicephalic - two heads
Ter- three tertiary - the third part or stage
Tri- three trilobar - three lobes
Tetra- four tetracylcine - a four-ringed molecule
Poly- many polydactyly - many digits (more than 5)
Oligo- few oligosaccharide - few sugars linked together

Micro- small microscope - equipment to view small things

Macro- large macrophage - large eating cell

Mega- great, megadontia - huge teeth
enormous 45
 Prefixes Denoting Organs, Structures, Things
Prefix Meaning Example
Acoust- sound acoustics - quality of sound
Abdomin/o abdomen abdominal - relating to the
abdomen
Acr/o extremity, limbs acromegaly - abnormally large limbs

Aden/o gland adenopathy - disease of a gland

Angi/o vessel angiogram - picture of a vessel
Arthr/o joint arthritis - inflammation of a joint
Corp- body corpus callosum - connecting body

Cyt/o cell cytokinesis - cell movement

Dermat/o skin dermatitis - skin inflammation
Encephal/o brain encephalitis - brain inflammation
Hepat/o liver hepatitis - liver inflammation
Gloss/o tongue glossopathy - tongue disease
Laryng/o larynx laryngitis - larynx inflammation 46
 Suffixes Denoting Relations, Conditions, and Agents
Suffix Meaning Example

-ac related to cardiac - related to the heart

-ious related to contagious - communicable by contact

-ic related to pyloric - related to pyloric valve of stomach

-ism condition mutism - condition of being mute

-osis condition scoliosis - S-shaped condition of backbone

-tion condition constipation - constant blockage condition

-ist agent (a person) opthalmologist - eye doctor

-or agent operator

-er agent examiner

-ician agent physician

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 Suffixes Used for Surgical and Operative Terminology
Suffix Meaning Example
-centesis to puncture amniocentesis - puncture the
amnion (fluid)
-ectomy to cut out and remove appendectomy - cut out &
remove appendix
-ostomy to cut and form opening colostomy - opening to drain
the colon
-otomy to cut or slice tracheotomy - cut the trachea

-pexy to fix or repair gastropexy - repair the

stomach
-plasty to reform or repair rhinoplasty - reform the nose

-rraphy to suture, sew ateriorraphy - suture an

artery
-scopy to view otoscope - instrument to
view ear
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 Other Suffixes Used in Anatomy
Suffix Meaning Example
-algia pain neuralgia - nerve pain
-cide kill or destroy germicide - substance that kills germs

-emia of the blood cholesterolemia - cholesterol in the

blood
-gram writing or record electrocardiogram - record of heart
action
-graph recording instrument electrocardiograph - records the heart

-itis inflammation appendicitis - appendix inflammation

-ology the study of ophthalmology - study of the eye
-oma tumor lymphoma - tumor of lymphatics
-orrhea flow menorrhea - flow during menstruation

-malacia soft osteomalacia - bone softening

-phasia speech dysphasia - slurred or blunted speech
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-phobia fear arachnophobia - fear of spiders
 ORGANISATION OF HUMAN BODY

• The human body is organised into 6 structural levels.

1. Chemical level
2. Cellular level
3. Tissue level
4. Organ level
5. System level
6. Organismic level

• These organisation make up the human body and it

functions and gives various specialities for study of
Anatomy
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 Chemical level

• Atoms combined to form molecules or

chemicals

Chemical level is the lowest level and

includes all chemicals substances essential
for maintaining life.

Examples of chemicals in human include

oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, etc 52
 Cellular level
• Cell: is the basic structural and function unit of
human life that is capable of self
replication/reproduction independently
• At the cellular level the human life undergo several
functions as metabolism, growth, repair,
reproduction.
• Component of cell
• Matter
• Atom ( C, S, K, P, O, H)
• Molecule (oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogren)
• Macromolecule (carbohydrates, protein, lipids)
• Organelles (nucleus, mitochodrian)
• All organelles come together to from a cell. 53
 Tissue level

• Aggregation of similar cells that perform a similar

function
• There 4 basic tissue level
• Epithelium
• Muscle
• Connective
• Nerve
• Some Authority treat blood and bone as separate
tissue.

• Eg. Smooth muscle cells of the myometrium, which

contract the uterus during labour
• Epithelial columnar cells of endometrium, makes it
necessary for implantation 54
 Organ and organ system

• Aggregtion of tissues to form an organ.

• Eg. Heart, stomach, uterus.

• Organ system : aggregation of various to perform a specific

function.
• Eg. Digestive system, respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous
system

• Some organs function in one or more system.. Eg. Pancrease

both in digestive and endocrine.

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 Organismic level
(all the systems in the body)

11 SYSTEMS 9 MAJOR SYSTEMS

1. Skeletal system 1. Circulatory system
2. Muscular system (cardiovascular and
lymphatic)
3. Cardiovascular system
2. Digestive
4. Lymphatic or immune
system 3. Respiratory
5. Digestive system 4. Skeletal
6. Respiratory system 5. Muscular
7. Urinary system 6. Endocrine
8. Integumentary system 7. Nervous
9. Nervous system 8. Excretory (urinary and
integumentary)
10. Endocrine system
9. reproductive
11. Reproductive system 56