KIN 322 Kinesiology · Unit 1: Foundations and the axial skeleton · on Exam 1
1.1 Anatomical terms, planes and axes
Study notes for Anatomical terms, planes and axes in KIN 322 Kinesiology at Montana State University: the big ideas, a worked example, common mistakes and an exam tip. The same topic has endless practice questions and flashcards in Mathub.
Big ideas
- Every description starts from anatomical position: standing upright, facing forward, arms at the sides with palms forward. Directions: superior/inferior, anterior/posterior, medial/lateral, proximal/distal (along a limb) and superficial/deep.
- Each cardinal plane pairs with the axis that pierces it at a right angle. Sagittal plane + mediolateral axis: flexion and extension, dorsiflexion and plantarflexion. Frontal (coronal) plane + anteroposterior axis: abduction and adduction, lateral flexion, radial and ulnar deviation. Transverse plane + longitudinal (vertical) axis: medial and lateral rotation, pronation and supination, horizontal abduction and adduction.
- Special movements: circumduction (a cone combining several planes), protraction/retraction and elevation/depression (scapula, mandible), upward/downward rotation (scapula), opposition (thumb), inversion/eversion and the triplanar pronation/supination of the foot.
- Kinematics describes motion (angles, velocity) without its causes; kinetics studies the forces and torques that cause it. Osteokinematics is the motion of bones through planes; arthrokinematics is motion between joint surfaces (roll, glide, spin).
- Degrees of freedom are the planes a joint can move in: hinge 1, condyloid and saddle 2, ball-and-socket 3. In an open kinetic chain the distal segment moves freely (a seated leg extension); in a closed chain it is fixed and the proximal segment moves over it (a squat).
Worked example
A person raises an arm straight out to the side to shoulder height, then swings it forward to point straight ahead at the same height. Name each movement with its plane and axis.
Show the solution
Raising it to the side is shoulder abduction in the frontal plane about an anteroposterior axis. Swinging it forward at shoulder height is horizontal adduction in the transverse plane about a vertical (longitudinal) axis.
Common mistakes
- Pairing a plane with an axis that lies inside it. The axis is always perpendicular to the plane.
- Describing a person lying down with “up” and “down”. Terms always refer to anatomical position.
- Using superior/inferior along a limb where proximal/distal is the standard.
- Calling forearm pronation “internal rotation”. It is pronation, at the radioulnar joints.
Exam tipPractice on yourself: make a movement, then say the plane and axis aloud. Picture the axis as a pin through a door hinge, at a right angle to the swing.
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