ANATOMICAL TERMINOLOGY

Relative position:
Superior: Means a part is above another part, or closer to the head. (The thoracic cavity is superior to the abdominopelvic cavity.)
Inferior: Means a part is below another part, or toward the feet. (The neck is inferior to the head.)
Anterior (or ventral): Means toward the front. (The eyes are anterior to the brain.)
Posterior (or dorsal): Posterior is the opposite of anterior; it means toward the back. (The pharynx is posterior to the oral cavity.)
Medial: Relates to an imaginary midline dividing the body into equal right and left halves. A part is medial if it is closer to this line than another part. (The nose is medial to the eyes.)
Lateral: Means toward the side with respect to the imaginary midline. (The ears are lateral to the eyes.)
Ipsilateral: Pertains to the same side (The spleen and the descending colon are ipsilateral)
Contralateral: Refers to the opposite side (the spleen and the gallbladder are contralateral).
Proximal: Proximal is used to describe a part that is closer to the trunk of the body or closer to another specified point of reference than another part. (The elbow is proximal to the wrist.)
Distal: Distal is the opposite of proximal. It means a particular body part is farther from the trunk or farther from another specified point of reference than another part. (The fingers are distal to the wrist.)
Superficial: Means situated near the surface. (The epidermis is the superficial layer of the skin.)
Peripheral: Also means outward or near the surface. It is used to describe the location of certain blood vessels and nerves. (The nerves that branch from the brain and spinal cord are peripheral nerves.)
Deep: Deep is used to describe parts that are more internal. (The dermis is the deep layer of the skin.)

Body Sections:
Sagittal: Sagittal refers to a lengthwise cut that divides the body into right and left portions. If a sagittal section passes along the midline and divides the body into equal parts, it is called median (midsagittal).
Transverse (or horizontal): Refers to a cut that divides the body into superior and inferior portions.
Coronal (or frontal): Refers to a section that divides the body into anterior and posterior portions.

Body Regions of the abdominal:
Epigastric Region: The upper middle portion.
Left and right hypochondriac regions: On each side of the epigastric region.
Umbilical region: The central portion.
Left and right lumbar regions: On each side of the umbilical region.
Hypogastric region: The lower middle portion.
Left and right iliac (inguinal) regions: On each side of the hypogastric region.

Abdominal areas divided by quadrants:
RUQ: Right upper quadrant.
RLQ: Right lower quadrant.
LUQ: Left upper quadrant.
LLQ: Left lower quadrant.