Axial planes are defined as which of the following?

• A. Planes at right angles to the sagittal and frontal planes and divide the body into superior and inferior sections
• B. Vertical planes that pass through the center dividing left and right halves
• C. Vertical planes that run parallel to the frontal plane
• D. Planes that divide the body into anterior and posterior sections

Answer: (A)

Axial planes (transverse planes) are horizontal slices that run across the body and are perpendicular to both the sagittal plane (which splits left and right) and the frontal (coronal) plane (which splits anterior and posterior). Because they lie parallel to the ground, they divide the body into superior (upper) and inferior (lower) parts. This orientation is what makes them the axial plane.

In contrast, a vertical plane that passes through the body to separate left and right halves is a sagittal plane, and a vertical plane parallel to the frontal plane would still slice the body in a way that emphasizes anterior and posterior relations, not superior–inferior division. A plane that divides into anterior and posterior is the frontal (coronal) plane.