GLOSSARY

The anatomical position is a standardized reference posture of the body on which all anatomical descriptions are based.
In this position, the body stands upright and the palms face forward.
The value of this convention is that directional terms such as anterior, posterior, medial, and lateral always carry a fixed meaning, regardless of whether the person is actually standing, lying down, or performing a sporting movement.

Features of the Anatomical Position

• Body and head: the person stands erect, with the head level and the eyes looking straight ahead.
• Upper limbs: the arms hang at the sides of the trunk with the palms facing anteriorly; the thumbs therefore point laterally and the forearms are in supination.
• Lower limbs: the legs are together and parallel, with the toes pointing forward.
• Feet: both feet rest flat on the ground.

Importance in Describing Position and Movement

All directional terms and the body planes, namely the sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes, are defined on the assumption that the body is in the anatomical position.
For example, the statement “the sternum is medial to the shoulder” remains true in any posture, even when the person is lying on the floor.
Likewise, during a handstand, the head is still anatomically superior to the feet, even though it is lower in space.
From a movement perspective, the anatomical position also serves as the zero position of the joints, and ranges of motion such as flexion and extension are measured from it.

Related Positions

The anatomical position should not be confused with lying positions.
In the supine position, the person lies on the back facing upward, whereas in the prone position the person lies face down; the bench press, for instance, is performed supine and the plank is performed prone.
Kinesiology sometimes also uses the fundamental position, in which the palms face the body rather than forward; this posture is more natural, but it is not the formal reference for anatomical descriptions.

Applications in Sport and Training

Coaches and physiotherapists rely on this shared language to describe technique precisely, analyze movement, and assess injuries.
For example, when a coach says that the knee should not collapse medially during a squat, the direction is defined relative to the anatomical position and means the same thing to every professional.
In a biceps curl performed with the palms facing up, the forearm is in the same supinated position as in the anatomical position, which places the biceps brachii in a more favorable mechanical position for elbow flexion.

Key Teaching Point

Whenever you are unsure how to describe a movement or a location, mentally return the body to the anatomical position and then determine the direction.
A common mistake among athletes, and even students, is to define directions according to the body’s current orientation; in the prone position, for example, the back faces upward but is still called the posterior surface.