Datasheet

■ Anatomical Terminology 13

As a rule of thumb, if a landmark is deﬁned as being superior, you can infer there is a

counterpart that is inferior. The same is true of posterior and anterior. Anatomical names

for the bone landmarks can also inﬂuence the names of the associated muscles.

Let’s look at the scapula. In Figure 1.19 you see the back of the shoulder blade—the

posterior surface. The landmark marked on the image is called the spine of the scapula.

This is an important landmark on the back of a ﬂeshed ﬁgure (Figure 1.20).

The muscles that lie above and below this bone feature are named Supraspinatus and

Infraspinatus, respectively (Figure 1.21). The names simply mean that the Supraspinatus is

superior to or above the spine of the scapula, and the Infraspinatus is inferior to or below

it. Again we see how the seemingly complex naming translates into very simple terms. Once

you understand anatomical direction, you ﬁnd many muscle names are extremely simple to

remember based on this fact.

Figure 1.18 The superior posterior iliac spine

Sculpture by Scott Spencer. Image courtesy anatomytools.com.

Figure 1.19 The scapula

Figure 1.20 The spine of the scapula is an important landmark on the back of a ﬂeshed ﬁgure.

50260c01.indd 13 11/9/09 10:40:49 PM