Anatomical terminology 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. In terms of anatomy, the body is divided into regions. In the front, the trunk is
Anatomical plane a person jumped directly up and then down, their body would be moving through the transverse plane in the coronal and sagittal planes. A "longitudinal plane" is any plane perpendicular to the transverse plane. The coronal plane and the sagittal plane are examples of longitudinal planes. Sometimes the orientation of certain planes needs to be distinguished, for instance in medical imaging techniques such as sonography, CT scans, MRI scans, or PET scans. One imagines a human in the anatomical position, and an X-Y-Z coordinate system with the y-axis going from front to back, the x-axis going from left to right,