Standard anatomical position Standard anatomical position is rigidly defined for human anatomy. In standard anatomical position, the human body is standing erect and at rest. Unlike the situation in other vertebrates, the limbs are placed in positions reminiscent of the supine position imposed on cadavers during autopsy. Therefore, the body has its feet together (or slightly separated), and its arms are rotated outward so that the palms are forward, and the thumbs are pointed away from the body (forearms supine). As well, the arms are usually moved slightly out from the body, so that the hands do not touch the sides. The positions
Anatomical plane Anatomical plane An anatomical plane is a hypothetical plane used to transect the human body, in order to describe the location of structures or the direction of movements. In human and animal anatomy, three principal planes are used: There could be any number of sagittal planes; however, there is only one cardinal sagittal plane. The term "cardinal" refers to the one plane that divides the body into equal segments, with exactly one half of the body on either side of the cardinal plane. The term "cardinal plane" appears in some texts as the "principal plane". The terms are interchangeable. The