Fascinating Medical Terminology

3 Dimensions divide any bilaterally-symmetrical organism's body into three distinct planes with three axes.

Bodily Axes

1. AP/VD: AnteroPosterior (Front to Back); Coronal, Y-Z, x-axis.
   
1. In Vertebrates, Antero-Posterior = Ventral-Dorsal or RostroCaudal, beak (rostral) to tail (caudal)
   
2. DS: Lateral (Dextro-Sinistral Axis)-- Right (dexter) to Left (sinister); Sagittal, X-Z, y-axis
   
1. Vertebrates and humans have identical laterial axes
   
3. SI/Superior-Inferior Axis (Head to Feet); Transverse, X-Y, z-axis
   
1. In Vertebrates, Superior-Inferior = Anterior-Posterior (careful, a bit confusing!)
   

Vertebrates use the same axis, head-to-feet, left-to-right, and front-to-back, but they're on all fours so obviously, the front and back IS head-to-feet and front and back are not forward and backward as with bipeds, but bottom (ventral) to back (dorsal). Good note, vertebrates have no "superior" becomes on all fours, head becomes anterior.

Extrapolation. So if you bonk your head (superior) and have to crawl on all fours for your classes, your head (superior) becomes your anterior and your butt stays posterior (or more technically turns caudal, as in "tail")! Your butt is posterior for vertebrates and bipeds a like! Then your stomach (previously anterior) becomes ventral and your back (formerly posterior) becomes dorsal. Then let's say you do some crazy yoga pose with your left hand extened high in the air, but are rotated sideways on your inclined outstretched legs (you torso twist). Then your left hand becomes superior (or dorsal), while your right hand is ventral, your chest to back becomes lateral and your head to feet are anterior-posterior!

Bodily Planes

The bodily axis are totally warped, viewed from a person's head lying horizontally, on his side, so

• Coronal Plane: Anteroposterior is X-axis
• Sagittal Plane: Lateral is Y-axis
• Transverse Plane: SuperiorInferior is Z-axis

But that's not that important, the more important thing is the planes created in those three areas by each axis. The important thing is the three planes that are created based on each axis. Lateral axis creates sagittal plane, superior-inferior axis creates the transverse and the anteroposterior axis creates the coronal (front-facing) plane. A great memory key is sagittal comes from "like an arrow" in reference to how the spine is like an arrow dividing the body and divides the body into lateral halves.

• Superficial-Visceral -- Surface-level and Inner Organs.
• Proximodistal Axis -- Close to torso (proximal), away from torso (distal).

Thus, you could say, with respect to my torso, my proximal limbs (shoulder, thigh) all get great blood flow, but my distal appendages (fingers and toes) frequently get low blood circulation and can fall asleep!