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ANATOMY WORDS YOU CAN SEE

Three planes. Three different divisions.

Stop memorizing a list without a picture. Choose a plane, move it through the model and watch which parts it separates.

Explore the planes

A simplified geometric teaching model, not a scan, body model or clinical interpretation tool.

Move a plane through the model

Imagine an upright body occupying this rectangular volume. Front is the near face; back is the slanted-away face. Left and right refer to the imagined person, not the viewer facing them. The model has no organs and is not to scale.

FRONTBACKUPPERLOWERRIGHTLEFT

Check what you noticed

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A quick guide to the three anatomical planes

Sagittal: divides left from right. A midsagittal plane passes through the center; a parallel plane away from the center is parasagittal.

Coronal, also called frontal: divides the front from the back. Anterior means front; posterior means back.

Transverse, also called axial: divides upper from lower portions in this upright-body model.

A plane is not an organ

A plane is an imaginary surface. Moving it changes where a section would be taken. It does not change the orientation category. Real anatomy has complex shapes that this rectangular model deliberately leaves out.

Use the terms with the diagram

Choose sagittal and move the slider off center. Return to center and notice the median label. Then switch to coronal and transverse. Explain each division in ordinary words before using the anatomical name.

Definitions checked against National Cancer Institute SEER Training: Anatomical Terminology. This page is for general education, not interpreting a medical image or diagnosing a condition.

PRINTABLE PARTNER PRACTICE

Name the split.

Use one page to compare three original plane diagrams, cover their names and explain each division to a partner. No app or account is needed.

Download the one-page teaching card (PDF)

The PDF is untagged. The complete exercise is available as HTML below and the definitions and interactive diagram are above.

Use the complete teaching card here

Imagine an upright person inside a rectangular box, facing you. Right and left mean that person’s sides. The three schematics show a vertical plane from front to back (sagittal), a vertical plane from side to side (coronal), and a horizontal plane (transverse). They are teaching models, not scans or organ maps.

First say the portions: left and right; front and back; upper and lower. Then name the plane. The sagittal plane at the midline is median or midsagittal; a parallel plane off the midline is parasagittal.

Cover the names and explain

  1. A horizontal slice across the upright box: what lies on its two sides?
  2. A vertical plane from front to back, away from the midline: name it.
  3. Move a coronal plane forward: does it become a different plane type?
Check together
  1. Upper and lower portions; transverse.
  2. Parasagittal, a sagittal plane.
  3. No. Its position changes; it still separates front and back.

Original diagrams and exercise by Honest Little Apps. Free to print and share intact with credit. General anatomy education only, not interpreting a medical image or giving personal advice. Definitions checked against NCI SEER Training: Anatomical Terminology on November 5, 2026. The teaching card and this browser explorer are separate companions to Body Unpacked.

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YOUR NEXT STEP

Connect anatomy to what the body does.

Body Unpacked combines organ-placement practice, sourced body topics and step-through physiology lessons. Explore digestion, breathing, circulation and nutrient roles with a free offline learning app.

Get Body Unpacked - free on the App Store

The current App Store listing is free with no in-app purchases listed. No account or ads. Requires iOS 18 or later. Educational information does not replace professional advice. This plane explorer is a separate web companion, not a promised native app feature.

Publisher disclosure: Honest Little Apps publishes Body Unpacked and this companion. This is not an independent review. App details checked November 4, 2026.

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Official app preview. The browser tool is a separate companion.

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