Body Planes

Medical imaging, such as CT scans, obtain images of an individual’s body or an organ in sections. A section is a two-dimensional surface of a three-dimensional structure that has been virtually cut. In order for scans to be correctly interpreted, the viewer must understand the plane along which the section was made. A plane is an imaginary two-dimensional surface that passes through the body. Four planes commonly referred to the medical field are frontal (coronal), sagittal (lateral), transverse (axial), and oblique:

• Frontal (coronal) plane: A vertical plane running from side to side that divides the body or any of its parts into anterior and posterior portions.
• Sagittal (lateral) plane: A vertical plane running from front to back that divides the body or any of its parts into right and left sides. If this vertical plane runs directly down the middle of the body, it is called the midsagittal or median plane. If the plane divides the body into unequal right and left sides, it is called a parasagittal plane or longitudinal section.
• Transverse (axial) plane: A horizontal plane that divides the body or any of its parts into upper and lower parts. Transverse planes produce images often referred to as “cross-sections.”
• Oblique plane: Divides the body at an angle between the horizontal and vertical planes.

See Figure 2.9^[1] for an illustration of body planes.