Biomechanics

1
Biomechanics

• Study of various aspects of physical movements of
  the body and body members.

2
Biomechanics is

• The field of study which makes use of the laws of
  physics and engineering concepts to describe
  motion of body segments, and the forces which act
  upon them during activity.
• Biomechanics deals with the body's mechanics,
  such as how muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments
  work to produce movement.
• Physics of the skeletal system, especially its
  static and dynamic analyses

3
Anatomical Position

• The anatomical position is a schematic convention
  for describing the relative morphology of the
  human body. All terms in the study of anatomy
  refer to when the body is in this position.
• The person is oriented
• in an erect standing position
• eyes and head facing forward
• feet forward and perpendicular to the body
• arms close to the sides and palms of the hands
  facing forward with fingers extended.

4
Historical People and Biomechanics

• Aristotle might be considered the first
  biomechanician.
• Da Vinci also gained some insight into
  biomechanics. He analyzed muscle forces as acting
  along lines connecting origins and insertions and
  studied joint function.

• Galileo because he also made important
  contributions to biomechanics. He was
  particularly aware of the mechanical aspects of
  bone structure and the basic principles of
  allometry.

5
Planes

• The body in anatomical position may be divided
  conceptually by planes.
• The median plane passes from the top to the
  bottom of the body and separates the left and the
  right sides of the body in equal halves.
• The frontal or coronal plane essentially
  separates the body into the forward half and the
  back half. This plane is perpendicular to the
  median and also passes from the top to the bottom
  along the long axis of the body
• The horizontal or transverse plane is
  perpendicular to both of these planes and is the
  plane which divides the body into an upper and a
  lower half.

6
Anatomical Directional Terminology

• Anterior In front of, front.
• Posterior After, behind, following, toward the
  rear.
• Distal Away from, father from the original.
• Proximal Near, closer to the origin.
• Dorsal Near the upper surface, towards the
  back.
• Ventral Toward the bottom, towards the belly.

• Inferior Below, under.
• Superior Above, over.
• Lateral Toward the side, away from the midline.
• Medial Toward the midline, middle, away from
  the side.
• Rostral Toward the front.
• Caudal Toward the back, toward the tail.

7
Three Lever Classes
8
Lever Classes in the Body