Use visible and palpable landmarks to describe the body.
A map uses landmarks to locate a place. Surface anatomy uses visible or palpable features to orient you on the body.
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Palpation
Examining a structure through touch.
For example
A bony prominence may be palpable even when it is not visible.
Read all notes for this section
Palpation
Examining a structure through touch. A bony prominence may be palpable even when it is not visible.
Brachial / antebrachial
Brachial refers to the upper arm; antebrachial refers to the forearm. The elbow separates the arm from the forearm.
Femoral / crural
Femoral refers to the thigh; crural refers to the leg between knee and ankle. The femur is in the thigh; tibia and fibula are in the leg.
Anterior / posterior landmarks
Anterior landmarks are on the front; posterior landmarks are on the back. The patella is anterior to the knee; the popliteal region is posterior.
Use an outside landmark
Surface anatomy links features seen or felt on the outside to structures beneath them. A landmark is a recognisable feature used to describe a location. The clavicle is the collarbone; the sternum is the breastbone; the patella is the kneecap. Begin with these familiar places.
Translate regional names into everyday words
Brachial means the arm between shoulder and elbow. Antebrachial means the forearm, carpal the wrist, and palmar the palm. In the lower limb, femoral means the thigh, crural the region between knee and ankle, and pedal the foot. Learn each term by pointing to its region.
Combine side, region and relationship
A useful description names the side, the region and a nearby landmark: “on the front of the right thigh, above the kneecap.” The technical version uses “anterior”, “femoral” and “superior”. A landmark helps locate a structure, but it cannot guarantee the exact position of deeper organs in every person.
Explore the illustration
Look at the whole view first. Then select one label and connect it to the idea you just read.
Anterior landmarks
The skeleton is visible through the surface to connect external landmarks with deeper support.
More controls
01 / 7 Clavicle
Guided anatomy tour: each step identifies one structure and explains its relationship to the next. The highlight moves; the anatomy stays still. Reduced motion is enabled. Use the arrows to study one step at a time, or choose Play.
Clavicle
A palpable bone at the base of the front of the neck.
Adapted for this lesson: labels removed, artwork cropped or recoloured, and interactive teaching overlays added. Adapted artwork retains its source licence.
Go deeper
In-depth reading
Follow this example step by step, then try explaining it yourself. The extra reading is optional: you can return to it after exploring the illustration.
Worked example: the front and back of the knee
Find the kneecap at the front of the knee. Its anatomical name is patella, so the area over it is the patellar region. A regional name describes an area, not just the bone.
The hollow behind the knee is the popliteal region. “Posterior knee” is a useful plain-language bridge to “popliteal”. Both tell you where to look.
Now add a side: right popliteal region. Cover the diagram labels and point to it, then say the everyday description aloud. Translating in both directions is more useful than reciting an isolated word.
Explain it yourself
Where would you look for a femoral finding?
Show the explanation
In the thigh, between hip and knee. “Femoral” names the region associated with the femur; it does not by itself say which tissue is involved.
More detail — when you are ready
These notes expand the mechanisms and vocabulary. Read one topic at a time and find the structures in the illustration.
Use precise regional vocabulary
Cephalic refers to the head, cervical to the neck and thoracic to the chest. Brachial is the arm, antebrachial the forearm, carpal the wrist and palmar the palm.
Femoral refers to the thigh, patellar to the front of the knee, popliteal to its posterior region, crural to the leg and pedal to the foot. Plantar means the sole; calcaneal means the heel.
Axillary identifies the armpit, inguinal the groin and gluteal the buttock. A regional term locates an area rather than naming one particular tissue within it.
Anterior and posterior landmarks
At the front, begin with the clavicle (collarbone), patella (kneecap) and costal margin (lower edge of the rib cage). Then add the sternal notch at the top of the breastbone and the xiphoid process at its lower end.
The anterior superior iliac spine is a projection at the front of the hip bone; the tibial tuberosity is a bump on the tibia below the kneecap. At the back, the scapular spine is a ridge on the shoulder blade.
The olecranon is the point of the elbow; the iliac crest is the upper rim of the hip bone. The sacrum lies at the base of the spine, and the ischial tuberosities are the sitting bones.
The calcaneal, or Achilles, tendon is the strong cord behind the ankle. The malleoli are the bony bumps at the ankle.
The outer (lateral) bump belongs to the fibula; the inner (medial) bump belongs to the tibia. A surface prominence may be bone, tendon or another structure: the calcaneal tendon is not a bone.
C7 commonly produces a prominent spinous process, but individual variation limits identification by touch alone.
Connect landmarks to deeper anatomy
An intercostal space lies between adjacent ribs; its number follows the rib immediately above it. The antecubital fossa is at the front of the elbow, whereas the popliteal fossa lies behind the knee.
Surface landmarks support examination and communication, but do not alone establish a safe procedural site. Pressure over a bony prominence can compress overlying soft tissues during prolonged immobility.
A complete description combines side, region, surface and a named landmark; it should distinguish observation from interpretation.
Further reading — optional
Free external resources in English. Internet connection required to open the links. Choose the topic you want to explore; these readings are not required to complete the section.
Use the labelled figures to practise position, planes and body regions. Read the part that matches this section first.
Practice progress is saved on this device for the current learner.
Sources and illustration notes
Bilingual teaching notes organised from your supplied anatomy reference pages. Medical SVG artwork is credited beneath each illustration; guided sequences and process overlays support slow, step-by-step study. Anatomy and translation await expert review.
