MedTerm Body as a Whole

Overview

1. Body As A Whole
   1. Cavities
   2. Direction
   3. Planes
   4. Common Terms

Nursing Points

General

1. Cavities
   1. Cranial
      1. Crani/o
      2. Pertains to the cranium
   2. Thoracic
      1. Thorac/o
      2. Pertains to the thorax/chest
   3. Abdominal
      1. Abdomin/o
      2. Pertains to the abdomen
   4. Pelvic
      1. Pelv/o
      2. Pertains to the pelvic cavity
   5. Spinal
      1. Spin/o
      2. Pertains to the spinal cavity
2. Directions & Positional
   1. Anterior &Posterior
      1. Anterior (anter/o)
         1. Toward the front of the body
      2. Posterior (poster/o)
         1. Toward the back side of the body
   2. Deep & Superficial
      1. Deep
         1. Away from the surface
      2. Superficial
         1. Toward the surface
   3. Proximal & Distal
      1. Proximal (proxim/o)
         1. Closest to the body
      2. Distal(dist/o)
         1. Furthest from the body
   4. Inferior & Superior
      1. Inferior (infer/o)
         1. Toward the feet
      2. Superior (super/o)
         1. Toward the head
   5. Medial & Lateral
      1. Medial (medi/o)
         1. Toward midline
      2. Lateral (later/o)
         1. Away from midline
   6. Supine & Prone
      1. Supine
         1. Lying on back
      2. Prone
         1. Lying on abdomen
3. Planes
   1. Frontal
      1. Coronal plane
      2. Divides the body into anterior & posterior structures
   2. Sagittal
      1. Lateral plane
      2. Divides body into right & left sides
   3. Transverse plane
      1. Cross-sectional or axial plane
      2. Divides body into upper & lower portions
4. Common terms
   1. abdomin/o – abdominal
   2. cervic/o – neck
   3. chondr/o – cartilage or joint
   4. crani/o – skull
   5. cyt/o – cell
   6. hist/o – tissue
   7. ventr/o – belly
   8. ana – up
   9. cata – down
   10. epi – above
   11. hyper – excessive/above
   12. hypo – below/low
   13. inter – between
   14. intra – within/into
   15. infra – below (or inferior to)
   16. meta – change

Nursing Concepts

1. Clinical Judgment
2. Communication