Hca 220 Week 7 Organizational Approaches Paper

The human body can be researched, analyzed, and studied in seven ways. Each way offers humans a better understanding of how the body works when in both states of health and disease. The first way to organize the contents of the human body is by body planes and body directions. “A plane is an imaginary flat surface that divides the body into two parts” (Turley, 2011). There are three planes in which to choose from. The first is coronal (frontal) plane. This plane will show a flat picture of the body as if it were cut in half from front to back. The second is the sagittal plane. This will show a flat picture of the body as if it were cut in half from left to right. The third is the transverse plane. This will show the body as if it were cut in the middle into two sections known as the superior and inferior sections. To move towards the head means to move in the cephalad direction and to move towards the tail bone means to move in the caudad direction. There are other terms that describe similar movements. These include: distal (moving down the arm or leg) and proximal (moving up the arm or leg) direction. To move in a medial direction means to move towards the center of the body and to move in a lateral direction means to move away from the center of the body. To move in an anteroposterior direction means moving from the outside of the body from the anterior and to move in an posteroanterior direction means moving from the outside of the body from the posterior side. MRI’s and X-rays use body planes to photograph the inside of the human body by “use[ing] magnetic energy and radio waves to create cross-sectional images or ‘slices’ of the human body” (Imaginis Corp., 1997-2012). This gives health care providers the ability to see inside the body without having to operate.

Another way to organize the human body is by body cavities. “A cavity is a hollow space. It is surrounded y bones or muscles that support and protect the organs and structures within the

References: Turley, S. (2011). Medical language: Immerse yourself (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Imaginis Corp. (1997-2012). Imaginis. Retrieved from http://www.imaginis.com/mri-scan/how- does-mr-work. Body Cavities. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.physioweb.org/direction/body_cavities.html