<p>I'm studying brain anatomy but I find coordinates systems are not consistent among books, lecture notes and internet. </p>

<p><strong>There are 3 plane directions</strong></p>

<ul>
<li>horizontal</li>
<li>coronal</li>
<li>sagittal</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>And 6 directions</strong></p>

<ul>
<li>superior</li>
<li>inferior</li>
<li>anterior</li>
<li>posterior</li>
<li>medial</li>
<li>lateral</li>
</ul>

<p>What I actually find is that the same "view" of the brain often have different names, and different views have the same name. I wanted to get rid once and forever to all ambiguity.</p>

<p><strong>How do I call a radiograph taken on</strong>:</p>

<ul>
<li>horizontal plane and looking from superior direction?</li>
<li>horizontal plane and looking from inferior direction?</li>
<li>coronal plane and looking from anterior direction?</li>
<li>coronal plane and looking from posterior direction?</li>
<li>sagittal plane and looking from medial direction?</li>
<li>sagittal plane and looking from lateral direction?</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>How do I call a radiograph taken from</strong>:</p>

<ul>
<li>above the brain without "cutting" it?</li>
<li>below the brain without "cutting" it?</li>
<li>the front of the brain without "cutting" it?</li>
<li>the back of the brain without "cutting" it?</li>
<li>the left side of the brain without "cutting" it?</li>
<li>the right the brain without "cutting" it?</li>
</ul>

<p>Another anomaly is that left/right is different. Other directions are from a point external to the body to another point external to the body (in example, superior seems to go from below the feet, to above the head), while medial, seems to indicate going from the center of the body, to the left or right side.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-21T18:01:13.863Z
The direction you look doesn't matter (besides for orienting): given a sufficiently thin section it's exactly the same.
Bryan Krause
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-22T16:02:21.390Z
Wells that was not clear from my study material, thank you. On some imaging this matters like voxel base images.  Seems most material is provided  without orientation, even though most times  contextual information or previous images are enough to understant what the orientation is
CoffeDeveloper
<neuroanatomy>
Consistent neuroanatomy coordinates naming
CoffeDeveloper
# Consistent neuroanatomy coordinates naming

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-04-21)

I'm studying brain anatomy but I find coordinates systems are not consistent among books, lecture notes and internet.

**There are 3 plane directions**

* horizontal
* coronal
* sagittal

**And 6 directions**

* superior
* inferior
* anterior
* posterior
* medial
* lateral

What I actually find is that the same "view" of the brain often have different names, and different views have the same name. I wanted to get rid once and forever to all ambiguity.

**How do I call a radiograph taken on**:

* horizontal plane and looking from superior direction?
* horizontal plane and looking from inferior direction?
* coronal plane and looking from anterior direction?
* coronal plane and looking from posterior direction?
* sagittal plane and looking from medial direction?
* sagittal plane and looking from lateral direction?

**How do I call a radiograph taken from**:

* above the brain without "cutting" it?
* below the brain without "cutting" it?
* the front of the brain without "cutting" it?
* the back of the brain without "cutting" it?
* the left side of the brain without "cutting" it?
* the right the brain without "cutting" it?

Another anomaly is that left/right is different. Other directions are from a point external to the body to another point external to the body (in example, superior seems to go from below the feet, to above the head), while medial, seems to indicate going from the center of the body, to the left or right side.

**Tags:** neuroanatomy

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The direction you look doesn't matter (besides for orienting): given a sufficiently thin section it's exactly the same.  
> **username_0**: Wells that was not clear from my study material, thank you. On some imaging this matters like voxel base images.  Seems most material is provided  without orientation, even though most times  contextual information or previous images are enough to understant what the orientation is  

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## 0 answers

