Directional Terms & Vocabulary
This term means “toward the head.”
What is cranial?
This bone protects the brain.
What is the skull?
Muscles that are attached to bones and help animals move.
What are skeletal muscles?
The main function of the respiratory system.
What is gas exchange?
The basic functional unit of the nervous system.
What is a neuron?
This term describes a structure closer to the midline of the body.
What is medial?
These bones make up the backbone.
What are vertebrae?
This muscle allows the heart to pump blood.
What is cardiac muscle?
This structure connects the throat to the lungs.
What is the trachea?
The part of the neuron that sends messages away from the cell body.
What is the axon?
The term used to describe something closer to the tail.
What is caudal?
The bone of the upper front limb in most animals.
What is the humerus?
Muscles that work automatically, such as in digestion.
What are smooth muscles?
Small air sacs in the lungs where oxygen exchange occurs.
What are alveoli?
This part of the brain controls balance and coordination.
What is the cerebellum?
This term means farther away from the body’s point of attachment.
What is distal?
These bones form the rib cage and protect vital organs.
What are ribs?
The muscle group responsible for bending a joint.
What are flexor muscles?
This part of the upper respiratory tract warms and filters air.
What is the nasal cavity?
This body system helps regulate body temperature.
What is the integumentary or nervous system?
The correct term for the back side of an animal’s body.
What is dorsal?
The main function of the skeletal system besides support.
What is protection, movement, or blood cell production?
Name one muscle commonly identified in animal anatomy labs.
What is biceps, triceps, quadriceps, or gastrocnemius?
Muscle that helps lungs expand and contract.
What is the diaphragm?
The function of dendrites in a nerve cell.
What is receiving signals?