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Lesson 9 - Anatomical Terms 2

Student Performance Objectives
1. Define each of the following sections with relation to the human body in the anatomical 
position: longitudinal, transverse, sagittal, mid-sagittal, frontal, and mid-frontal.
2. Define the following body cavities and list the major organs found in each: dorsal, cranial, 
spinal, ventral, thoracic, pleural, pericardial, abdominal, pelvic, oral, orbital, and nasal.
3. Define each of the following membranes indicating their anatomical position: parietal
pleura, visceral pleura, pericardial sac, epicardium, parietal peritoneum, visceral peritoneum,
mesentery, greater omentum, and lesser omentum.

Lesson Outline
A. Planes and Sections of the Body
    1. Longitudinal cuts - cuts made parallel to the object's long axis.
        a. Sagittal and mid-sagittal - cuts parallel to the long axis that divide the body
            or object into right and left parts (or right and left halves for mid-sagittal).
        b. Frontal and mid-frontal - cuts perpendicular to the long axis that divide the
            body or object into front and back parts.
    2. Transverse cuts (cross sections) - cuts made perpendicular to the object's long axis.
B. Application to the whole human body
C. Cavities of the body 
    1. Dorsal cavity
        a. Cranial cavity - cavity containing the brain.
        b. Spinal cavity - cavity containing the spinal cord.
    2. Ventral cavity
        a. Diaphragm as a landmark - separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities.
        b. Thoracic cavity
            1. Right and left pleural cavities - contain the right and left lungs.
            2. Pericardial cavity - contains the heart.
        c. Abdomino-pelvic cavity
            1. Abdominal cavity - contains the abdominal viscera including the 
                liver, stomach, small intestine, spleen, and omenta.
            2. Pelvic cavity - contains many organs including the ovaries, urinary 
                bladder, and rectum.
            3. Retroperitoneal position - a structure located posterior to the 
                peritoneum - includes the kidneys, pancreas and abdominal aorta.
    3. Miscellaneous cavities
        a. Oral or buccal cavity - the mouth.
        b. Orbital cavities - contain the eyeballs.
        c. Nasal cavities - contain the nasal epithelium.
    4. Membranes associated with the cavities
        a. Thoracic cavity - Pleurae
            1. Parietal pleura - slippery, membranous covering of the surface of the 
                thoracic cavity's walls.
            2. Visceral pleura - is the outer, membranous, slippery covering of the 
                lung surface.
        b. Pericardial cavity
            1. Pericardial sac - encloses the heart.
            2. Epicardium - is the heart's tightly adherent, slippery surface membrane.
        c. Abdominal cavity - Peritoneum
            1. Parietal peritoneum - slippery, membranous covering of the walls of 
                the abdominal cavity.
            2. Visceral peritoneum - is the slippery surface of the abdominal organs.
            3. Mesentery - the portion of the peritoneum that suspends the small 
                intestine in place.
            4. Greater omentum - portion of the peritoneum that hangs over the
                abdominal viscera, being firmly attached to the inferior border of the 
                stomach.
            5. Lesser omentum - also know as the ligamentum hepatogastricum - a connective tissue that
                binds the liver and stomach together.


Biomedical Terminology:

Abdominal cavity
Buccal cavity
Cranial cavity 
Cross section 
Diaphragm 
Dorsal cavity
Epicardium 
Frontal
Greater omentum
Lesser omentum
Longitudinal
Mesentery 
Mid-frontal 
Mid-sagittal
Nasal cavity
Oral cavity
Orbital cavity
Parietal peritoneum
Parietal pleurae
Pericardial cavity
Pericardial sac
Pleural cavity
Retroperitoneal 
Sagittal 
Spinal cavity
Thoracic cavity
Transverse 
Ventral cavity
Visceral peritoneum
Visceral pleurae