Planes & Axis of movement

Three basic reference planes are used in anatomy:

• A sagittal plane, also known as the longitudinal plane, is perpendicular to the ground and divides the body into left and right. The midsagittal or median plane is in the midline i.e. it would pass through the midline structures (e.g. navel or spine), and all other sagittal planes (also referred to as parasagittal planes) are parallel to it. Median can also refer to the midsagittal plane of other structures, such as a digit.

• A coronal or frontal plane is perpendicular to the ground and divides the body into dorsal (posterior or back) and ventral (anterior or front) portions.

• A transverse plane, also known as an axial plane or cross-section, divides the body into cranial (head) and caudal (tail) portions. It is parallel to the ground, which (in humans) separates the superior from the inferior, or put another way, the head from the feet.

When describing anatomical motion, these planes describe the axis along which an action is performed. So by moving through the transverse plane, movement travels from head to toe. For example, if a person jumped directly up and then down, their body would be moving through the transverse plane in the coronal and sagittal planes.