1.04 Anatomical Terminology- Body Cavities

• Introduction
• Learn
• Try It
• Task
• Unit Vocab
• Course Vocab

Introduction

The basis for words used in Anatomy and Physiology are of Greek and Latin origin. The main reason for this is that the Greeks were the founders of rational medicine in the 5th Century B.C.

Greek medicine soon migrated to Rome, and many Latin terms were added. Latin was the language of science until the beginning of the 18th century, so all medical texts were written in Latin.

An example of this is “hepatitis” meaning an inflammation of the liver. The breakdown of the word is as follows:

• hepat = root of the word meaning liver
• -itis = suffix of the word meaning inflammation

If “-itis” is added to the end of any word, it always refers to “inflammation.” So, arthritis is the “inflammation” of the joint (“arthr” means joint). Knowing the definitions of the word parts will make it easier to learn terminology in Anatomy/Physiology.

 

Lesson Objectives

Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to... Apply anatomical terminology relating to body cavities, direction, planes, and regions. Enduring Understandings Anatomy/Physiology is the study of the organizational structure and function of the human body from cell to organism The above objectives correspond with the Alabama Course of Study: Anatomy and Physiology standards: 1