we use anatomical terminology to decrease confusion and increase precision

for example, hyper- means high, and tension refers to pressure, therefore hypertension means high blood pressure

tachycardia and bradycardia seem like weird words, but let's break them down

tachy- means rapid and cardia refers to the heart, hence rapid heart rate

brady- means slow and cardia refers to the heart, hence slow heart rate

now, ready for the hard-er stuff?

Anatomical Position

prone means face down

supine means face up

Regional Terms

the term "brachium" or "arm" is reserved for the upper arm, and "antebrachium" or "forearm" is used rather than "lower arm".

Directional Terms

Anterior or ventral describes the front

the toes are anterior to the foot

Posterior or dorsal describes the back

the popliteus is posterior to the patella

Superior or cranial describes a position above or higher than another bbody part

the orbits are superior to the oris

Inferior or caudal describes a position below or lower than another body part

the pelvis is inferior to the abdomen