As with other anatomical terms, for example, body planes, directions, and relationships, this word must be viewed in context. They are just references for the way a body is placed. There is no literal meaning to anatomical positions. Foot alignment is slightly parallel, with toes pointing forward. A person standing upright, palms facing forward, thumbs pointed away from their body, with arms hanging by their sides, follows this universal standard of anatomically upright posture. The term anatomical position refers to how an organism’s body is oriented, located, moved, and directed. Anatomical position: what does it mean, and why is it so important? In this article, we will learn more about anatomical positions and why they are so important. There is a standard anatomical position for each species of organism. Medical practitioners cannot discuss patients’ bodies without having a general awareness of anatomical position, which is particularly important in medicine. They can be used similarly to standardization tools to describe an organism’s position. Artist: Victoria G.We use anatomical positions to describe the body because they provide a reference point. If you hover your mouse over the image, you will see the midline or median plane. Have you ever wondered why it is called the 'back' of your hand, although it is almost always facing forward or up? In the anatomical position the subject is standing, face forward, with the heels together and the palms of the hands facing forward. This is why physicians and anatomists refer to the human body as if the patient was in a standard position: the anatomical position (see image). The need for specific directional terminology for the human body is critical. If the patient is prone (face down) where is 'down'? What if the patient is placed in a reverse Trendelenburg position? The examples of directional mistakes can go on and on, and they are in many cases cause for problems. The situation is complicated by the position of the patient on the surgical table. This is even life-threatening if we are talking about a pneumonectomy, a nephrectomy, or any surgical manipulation of a bilateral organ. When a surgeon indicates to his assistant to 'cut towards the left', whose left is he referring to? the assistant's left? the anesthesiologist's left? the surgeon's left?. The use of directions when working with the human body can be problematic, if not critical. 'Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc., and the contributors of 'Medical Terminology Daily' wish to thank all individuals who donate their bodies and tissues for the advancement of education and research”. “The Origin of Medical Terms” Skinner HA 1970 Hafner Publishing Co. “Histoire de la M?decine, depuis son origine jusqu'au dix-neuvi?me si?cle” A. If you click on the image you can see a larger depiction.ġ. We have not been able to find an image of Naboth, so we are depicting the title page of his 1707 “De Sterilitate Mulierum”. Naboth died in Leipzig in 1721 leaving a large anatomical collection. Naboth had only rediscovered these cysts first described in 1681 by Guillaume des Noues (1650 – 1735), although the eponym records Naboth’s name.

These cysts, which are common and do not represent a sign of cervical cancer, are known today as Nabothian cysts. These mucus-producing glands are known as the and also as Nabothian glands. Only later were to understand these structures as cysts created by clogging of the opening of the glands found around the uterine cervix. His discovery was accepted by many and these structures came to be known as “Ovula Nabothii “. Believing that he had discovered the way women store eggs, he called these “ovarium novum” (new ovaries). In this book he refers to small pearl-like transparent structures found in the uterine cervix. His main publication in 1707 was “De Sterilitate Mulierum” (On Sterility in Women). Although his interests were based in chemistry, Naboth became an avid anatomist, with interest in the anatomy of the female reproductive system. He studied medicine at the University in Leipzig, receiving his doctorate in Philosophy in 1701 and his MD in 1703. He was born in 1675 in Calau, a town in Southern Brandenburg, Germany. Not much is known about this German physician and anatomist.