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Unit 1 Health Informatics Career Pathway
Body Planes
Some medical professionals cut into the body with scalpels for surgery
or dissection [dis = apart, sect = to cut, ion = action of]. Others use imaging
technology to see inside the body without cutting it open. Body dissection
and imaging technology both allow us to see the inside of the body in
fl at sections, or body planes. These planes help us refer more precisely to
different points within the body.
If you look at an apple from the outside, you can only see the peel
and overall shape. If you slice the apple from the top down through the
core, you will see the inside, with the core down the middle and the seeds
and fl esh on each side of the core. If you had sliced the apple horizontally
across the middle, you would have seen the core at the center, encircled by
its seeds, and the apple fl esh around that—a very different view.
Just as you can get a different view of the inside of an apple by cutting
it in different directions, you can view the inside of a body along different
planes, depending on what you are trying to see (Figure 5.16). The
direction of the cut determines the name of the body plane:
• The frontal plane, also called the coronal plane, divides the body
(or organ) into its front and back sections.
• The sagittal (SAJ-iht-uhl) plane divides the body, organ, or
appendage into right and left sections. You can make a sagittal cut
at various points along the width of the body. When the body is
divided exactly down the midline, this is called the midsagittal
plane. Zippers and buttons often appear on the midsagittal line. A
midsagittal view of the head shows the different lobes of the brain.
• The transverse [trans = across] plane divides the body into top
and bottom sections. It cuts across the body, perpendicular to the
frontal and sagittal planes.
• Each section, or plane, shows different angles of different organs.
Medical imaging technicians must be able to recognize the
organs from different directions. These workers also know how
superfi cial or deep in the body the organs are located.
RECALL YOUR READING
1. Anatomy is organized in a hierarchy. Atoms bond to form molecules.
Groups of molecules form _________, which are the basic structures of
cells. Groups of similar cells join together to form _________. _________ are
different types of tissues working together for the same purpose. They work
together as _________ to maintain balance within the body.
2. Terms for body directions are based on standard _________ position, in
which a person is standing erect, facing forward, with the arms at the sides
and palms facing forward.
3. Abdominal _________ and _________ regions are two different ways of
referring to areas of the belly.
4. Vital organs are protected inside _________ by membranes and bones.
5. Medical imaging views structures inside the body in flat _________.
body plane
a fl at or level surface seen
by cutting away part of the
body through surgery or
medical imaging to serve as
a point of reference when
discussing anatomy
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