Midsagittal plane

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The midsagittal plane divides the body into left and right halves down the center of the body, along the spine and navel and between the legs.

Three basic reference planes are used in zoological anatomy.

• A sagittal plane divides the body into left and right portions.
  • The midsagittal plane is in the midline, i.e. it would pass through midline structures such as the navel or spine, and all other sagittal planes are parallel to it.
• A coronal plane divides the body into dorsal and ventral (back to front) portions.
• A transverse or horizontal plane divides the body into cranial and caudal (top to bottom) portions.

When describing anatomical motion, these planes describe the axis along which an action is performed. So by moving through the transverse plane, movement travels from head to toe. For example, if a person jumped directly up and then down, their body would be moving in the transverse plane.

Some of these terms come from Latin. Sagittal means "like an arrow," a reference to the position of the spine which naturally divides the body into right and left equal halves, the exact meaning of the term "midsagittal".