________________________________________Chapter 2 Terms Pertaining to the Body as a Whole

Lesson Plan

2 Terms Pertaining to the Body as a Whole

TEACHING FOCUS
Students will have the opportunity to learn about the structural organization of the body, including cells,
tissues, organs, and systems. Students will be presented with terminology relating to the body cavities and
organs and will receive instruction on the terms associated with the anatomical divisions of the body and
back, and the positions, directions, and planes of the body. Students will also have the opportunity to learn
new medical word elements and use them to understand new medical terms.

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

Copies of diagrams of human bodies (Lesson 2.1)

Copies of unlabeled spine diagram (Lesson 2.2)
Flashcards or transparencies with a variety of combining forms, prefixes, and suffixes (Lesson 2.2)
Overhead projector (all Lessons)
Paper (all Lessons)
Projector screen (all Lessons)
Unlabeled diagrams of body cavities (Lesson 2.1)

LESSON CHECKLIST

Preparations for this lesson include:

Lecture
Guest speakers: medical assistant, physician, nurse
Student performance evaluation of all entry-level skills required for student comprehension and
application of medical terminology principles including:
o body cavities
o combining terms, definitions, and pronunciations
o directions and planes
o divisions of the body and back
o organs

KEY TERMS

Vocabulary (pp. 32-50)

abdominal
abdominal cavity
adipose tissue
anabolism
anterior (ventral)
cartilage
catabolism
cell membrane
cervical
chromosome
circulatory system
coccygeal
coccyx
connective tissue
cranial
cranial cavity
cytoplasm
deep
diaphragm
digestive system
disc/disk
distal

DNA
dorsal
endocrine system
endoplasmic reticulum
epigastric region
epithelial
epithelial cell
epithelial tissue
fat
fat cell
frontal (coronal)
genes
histologist
hypochondriac regions
hypogastric region
iliac
inferior (caudal)
inguinal
inguinal regions
karyotype
larynx
lateral
left lower quadrant

(LLQ)
left upper quadrant
(LUQ)
lumbar
lumbar regions
medial
mediastinum
metabolism
mitochondria
muscle cell
muscle tissue
musculoskeletal system
nerve cell
nerve tissue
nervous system
nucleus
pelvic
pelvic cavity
peritoneum
pharynx
pituitary gland
pleura
pleural cavity

________________________________________Chapter 2 Terms Pertaining to the Body as a Whole

posterior (dorsal)
prone
proximal
respiratory system
reproductive system
right lower quadrant
(RLQ)
right upper quadrant
(RUQ)
sacrum
sagittal (lateral)
skin system
slipped disk
spinal
spinal cavity
spinal column
spinal cord
superficial
superior
superior (cephalic)
supine
thoracic
thoracic cavity
thyroid gland
trachea
transverse (cross-sectional
or axial)
umbilical region
ureter

urethra
urinary system
uterus
ventral
vertebra
viscera
Combining Forms
(pp. 50-53)
abdomin/o
adip/o
anter/o
bol/o
cervic/o
chondr/o
chrom/o
coccyg/o
crani/o
cyt/o
dist/o
dors/o
hist/o
ili/o
inguin/o
kary/o
later/o
lumb/o
medi/o
nucle/o

pelv/i
poster/o
proxim/o
sacr/o
sarc/o
spin/o
thel/o
thorac/o
trache/o
umbilic/o
ventr/o
vertebr/o
viscer/o
Prefixes (p. 53)
anacataepihypointermetaSuffixes (p. 54)
-eal
-iac
-ior
-ism
-ose
-plasm
-somes
-type

REFERENCE LIST
PowerPoint slides (CD, Evolve): 1-54

Legend

CD
Companion
CD

iTerms

IRM
Instructors
Resource Manual
available on CD
and Evolve

Evolve
Evolve
Resources

PPT
PowerPoint
Slides

MTO
Medical
Terminology
Online

Class Activities are indicated in bold italic.

LESSON 2.1
PRETEST
IRM Quiz B

BACKGROUND ASSESSMENT
Question: The body is organized into a number of systems, for example, the cardiovascular system. Can you
name any of its organs, tissues, or cells?
Answer: One of the organs of the cardiovascular system is the heart. The tissues in the heart are the
endocardium, myocardium, and pericardium. The cells of the myocardium are heart muscle cells.
Question: How could you use a system of location similar to north/south and east/west to describe location
on a patient's body? Why is this important?
Answer: Because a patient may change position, from standing to lying down, a system of describing
location on the body is necessary for communication between members of the healthcare team. The concept
of superior (above another structure) and inferior (below another structure), posterior (back of the body) and
anterior (front of the body), and medial (pertaining to the middle) and lateral (pertaining to the side) are the
human body's equivalents of directional terms.

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTION

Why is it important to have a universal scheme for describing regions of the abdomen?
Guidelines: Practitioners must have a common means of communicating that will describe locations in the
abdomen.

OBJECTIVES
Define terms that
apply to the
structural
organization of
the body.

CONTENT

Structural organization of the

body (p. 32)

Cells (p. 32)

Tissues (p. 36)

Organs (p. 37)

Systems (p. 37)

TEACHING RESOURCES
PPT 5-13
MTO Module 2, Section I, Lessons 1-6
Figure 2-1 Major parts of a cell (p. 32)
Figure 2-2 Egg and sperm cells (p. 33)
Figure 2-3 Karyotype of a normal male (p. 33)
Figure 2-4 (A) Karyotype of a Down syndrome
female patient; (B) Photograph of a
3-year-old girl (p. 34)
Figure 2-5 Types of cells (p. 36)
Study Section 1 (p. 35)
Study Section 2 (p. 38)
Exercises A-C (pp. 55-56)
Class Activity Divide

the class into two teams.

Give them a term relating to the structural
organization of the body (e.g., heart,
mitochondria, etc.) and ask them to name the
larger structure or system it belongs to. The
first team to answer correctly wins a point.
The team with the most points wins.
Class Activity Give

the students a copy of

Figure 2-1 and ask them to label the
structures, including combining forms
wherever appropriate.
Identify the body
cavities and
recognize the
organs contained

Body cavities (p. 38)

PPT 14-18
MTO Module 2, Section I, Lesson 7

OBJECTIVES

CONTENT

within those
cavities.

TEACHING RESOURCES
Figure 2-6 Body cavities (p. 39)
Figure 2-7 Divisions of the thoracic cavity
(p. 39)
Figure 2-8 Abdominal cavity (side view)
(p. 40)
Study Section 3 (p. 43)
Figure 2-9 Organs of the abdominopelvic and
thoracic cavities, anterior view (p. 41)
Figure 2-10 Organs of the abdominopelvic and
thoracic cavities, posterior view (p. 42)
Exercise D (p. 56)
Class Activity Divide

students into teams. Give

each team a copy of Figure 2-6 (p. 39)
without the cavity labels. Have each team
label the cavities and fill in the names of at
least one organ in each cavity. The first team
to complete a correct diagram wins. Have
them present their diagram to the class.
Locate and
identify the
anatomical and
clinical divisions
of the abdomen.

Abdominopelvic regions and

quadrants (p. 44)

Regions (p. 44)

Quadrants (p. 44)

PPT 19-27, 32-33

MTO Module 2, Section I, Lesson 8
Figure 2-11 Abdominopelvic regions (p. 44)
Figure 2-12 Abdominopelvic quadrants (p. 45)
Exercise E (p. 57)
Review Sheet, Label the regions and quadrants
of the abdominopelvic cavity (p. 67)
Class Activity Make

two copies of the figure of

the human body in Figure 2-9 (p. 41) for
each student. Have each student first draw
and label the four quadrants of the body. On
the next page, have each student draw and
label the nine regions. Be sure to check the
correct labeling for left and right sides.

2.1 Homework/Assignments:

2.1 Teachers Notes:

LESSON 2.2
CRITICAL THINKING QUESTION
Judy is found lying on her back after a fall. The imaging studies show that she has injured her spine at
T3. Where is this?
Guidelines: T3 is the third thoracic vertebra. The thoracic vertebrae are between the cervical and the lumbar
vertebrae.

OBJECTIVES
Locate and name
the anatomical
divisions of the
back.

CONTENT

Divisions of the back

(spinal column) (p. 45)

TEACHING RESOURCES
PPT 29-31
MTO Module 2, Section I, Lesson 9
Figure 2-13 Anatomical divisions of the back
(spinal column) (p. 46)
Study Section 4 (p. 47)
Exercise F (p. 57)
Review Sheet, Name the divisions of the spinal
column (p. 67)
Class Activity Divide

the class into two teams.

Show a transparency or PowerPoint slide of
the anatomical divisions of the back
(Figure 2-13, p. 46). Call out a number and
ask them to name the division. The first team
to answer correctly wins a point. Give an
additional point to the team that can give the
correct number of bones in this division. The
team with the most points wins.
Class Activity Make

copies of the spine in

Figure 2-13 (p. 46). Have students label the
divisions of the spine with the numbers of
bones in each division, including the correct
term for the space between the vertebrae.
Using the copies of the spine in Figure 2-14,
choose a bone in each of the divisions and
mark it on either a transparency or a
PowerPoint slide. Ask students to identify
the bone with its abbreviation where
appropriate.
Become
acquainted with
terms that
describe
positions,
directions, and
planes of the
body.

Positional and directional terms

(p. 48)
Planes of the body (p. 49)

PPT 34-40
MTO Module 2, Section I, Lesson 10
Figure 2-14 Positional and directional terms
(p. 48)
Study Section 5 (pp. 50)
Review Sheet, Name the planes of the head as
pictured below (p. 68)
Review Sheet, Name the positional and
directional terms (pp. 68)
Use sticky notes to mark a
location on either a model of the body or a
skeleton. Ask students to use the directional
Class Activity

OBJECTIVES

CONTENT

TEACHING RESOURCES
terms they have learned to describe the
locations of the sticky notes.
Divide the class into two or
more competing teams. Give them one of the
terms that describe positions, directions, or
planes of the body. Ask them to explain or
demonstrate the meaning of the term and give
an example of its use. The team with the most
correct answers wins.
Class Activity

Class Activity

Find examples of illustrations

of patients that can be described as an
anterior or posterior view and supine or
prone positions. Use these as PowerPoint or
transparency slides Ask students to name the
view. Ask the students to then give examples
of how the terms proximal/distal and inferior/
superior can be used with regard to these
illustrations.
Performance
Evaluation

ESLR Student Quiz Chapter 02

MTO Module 2, Section I Quiz
MTO Module 2, Exam

2.2 Homework/Assignments:

2.2 Teachers Notes: