Superficial Anatomy

Anatomical features that can be observed by sight (without dissection), including the form and proportions of the human body as well as surface landmarks that correspond to deeper subcutaneous structures. Superficial anatomy plays an important role in sports medicine, phlebotomy, and other medical specialties as underlying anatomical structures can be identified through surface palpation. For example, during back surgery, superficial anatomy can be used to palpate and count vertebrae to find the site of incision. Or in phlebotomy, superficial anatomy can be used to locate an underlying vein; for example, the median cubital vein can be located by palpating the borders of the cubital fossa (such as the epicondyles of the humerus) and then looking for the superficial signs of the vein, such as size, prominence, ability to refill after depression, and feel of surrounding tissue support. As another example, in a subluxation (dislocation) of the glenohumeral joint, the bony structure becomes pronounced with the deltoid muscle failing to cover the glenohumeral joint allowing the edges of the scapula to be superficially visible. Here, the superficial anatomy is the visible edges of the scapula, implying the underlying dislocation of the joint (the related anatomical structure).

Equivalent Classes: schema:SuperficialAnatomy

Properties from SuperficialAnatomy

Property	Expected Type	description
associatedPathophysiology	Text	If applicable, a description of the pathophysiology associated with the anatomical system, including potential abnormal changes in the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of the system.
relatedAnatomy	AnatomicalSystem AnatomicalStructure	Anatomical systems or structures that relate to the superficial anatomy.
relatedCondition	MedicalCondition	A medical condition associated with this anatomy.
relatedTherapy	MedicalTherapy	A medical therapy related to this anatomy.
significance	Text	The significance associated with the superficial anatomy; as an example, how characteristics of the superficial anatomy can suggest underlying medical conditions or courses of treatment.

Properties from MedicalEntity

Property	Expected Type	description
code	MedicalCode	A medical code for the entity, taken from a controlled vocabulary or ontology such as ICD-9, DiseasesDB, MeSH, SNOMED-CT, RxNorm, etc.
funding	Grant	A Grant that directly or indirectly provide funding or sponsorship for this item. See also ownershipFundingInfo.
guideline	MedicalGuideline	A medical guideline related to this entity.
legalStatus	Text DrugLegalStatus MedicalEnumeration	The drug or supplement's legal status, including any controlled substance schedules that apply.
medicineSystem	MedicineSystem	The system of medicine that includes this MedicalEntity, for example 'evidence-based', 'homeopathic', 'chiropractic', etc.
recognizingAuthority	Organization	If applicable, the organization that officially recognizes this entity as part of its endorsed system of medicine.
relevantSpecialty	MedicalSpecialty	If applicable, a medical specialty in which this entity is relevant.
study	MedicalStudy	A medical study or trial related to this entity.

Properties from Thing

Property	Expected Type	description
additionalType	URL	An additional type for the item, typically used for adding more specific types from external vocabularies in microdata syntax. This is a relationship between something and a class that the thing is in. In RDFa syntax, it is better to use the native RDFa syntax - the 'typeof' attribute - for multiple types. Schema.org tools may have only weaker understanding of extra types, in particular those defined externally.
alternateName	Text	An alias for the item.
description	Text	A description of the item.
disambiguatingDescription	Text	A sub property of description. A short description of the item used to disambiguate from other, similar items. Information from other properties (in particular, name) may be necessary for the description to be useful for disambiguation.
identifier	PropertyValue URL Text	The identifier property represents any kind of identifier for any kind of Thing, such as ISBNs, GTIN codes, UUIDs etc.
image	URL ImageObject	An image of the item. This can be a URL or a fully described ImageObject.
instanceOf	Enumeration	Type to which this subject belongs. Use for membership in a value set (Enumeration), not inheritance. Example: K2 instanceOf mountain; volcano subClassOf mountain.
mainEntityOfPage	URL CreativeWork	Indicates a page (or other CreativeWork) for which this thing is the main entity being described. See background notes for details.
name	Text	The name of the item.
potentialAction	Action	Indicates a potential Action, which describes an idealized action in which this thing would play an 'object' role.
sameAs	URL	URL of a reference Web page that unambiguously indicates the item's identity. E.g. the URL of the item's Wikipedia page, Wikidata entry, or official website.
subjectOf	Event CreativeWork	A CreativeWork or Event about this Thing.
url	URL	URL of the item.

Instances of SuperficialAnatomy may appear as a value for the following properties

Property	On Types	description
associatedAnatomy	PhysicalActivity MedicalCondition	The anatomy of the underlying organ system or structures associated with this entity.
sensoryUnit	Nerve	The neurological pathway extension that inputs and sends information to the brain or spinal cord.

Properties from SuperficialAnatomy

Property	Expected Type	description
associatedPathophysiology	Text	If applicable, a description of the pathophysiology associated with the anatomical system, including potential abnormal changes in the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of the system.
relatedAnatomy	AnatomicalSystem AnatomicalStructure	Anatomical systems or structures that relate to the superficial anatomy.
relatedCondition	MedicalCondition	A medical condition associated with this anatomy.
relatedTherapy	MedicalTherapy	A medical therapy related to this anatomy.
significance	Text	The significance associated with the superficial anatomy; as an example, how characteristics of the superficial anatomy can suggest underlying medical conditions or courses of treatment.

Properties from MedicalEntity

Property	Expected Type	description
code	MedicalCode	A medical code for the entity, taken from a controlled vocabulary or ontology such as ICD-9, DiseasesDB, MeSH, SNOMED-CT, RxNorm, etc.
funding	Grant	A Grant that directly or indirectly provide funding or sponsorship for this item. See also ownershipFundingInfo.
guideline	MedicalGuideline	A medical guideline related to this entity.
legalStatus	Text DrugLegalStatus MedicalEnumeration	The drug or supplement's legal status, including any controlled substance schedules that apply.
medicineSystem	MedicineSystem	The system of medicine that includes this MedicalEntity, for example 'evidence-based', 'homeopathic', 'chiropractic', etc.
recognizingAuthority	Organization	If applicable, the organization that officially recognizes this entity as part of its endorsed system of medicine.
relevantSpecialty	MedicalSpecialty	If applicable, a medical specialty in which this entity is relevant.
study	MedicalStudy	A medical study or trial related to this entity.

Properties from Thing

Property	Expected Type	description
additionalType	URL	An additional type for the item, typically used for adding more specific types from external vocabularies in microdata syntax. This is a relationship between something and a class that the thing is in. In RDFa syntax, it is better to use the native RDFa syntax - the 'typeof' attribute - for multiple types. Schema.org tools may have only weaker understanding of extra types, in particular those defined externally.
alternateName	Text	An alias for the item.
description	Text	A description of the item.
disambiguatingDescription	Text	A sub property of description. A short description of the item used to disambiguate from other, similar items. Information from other properties (in particular, name) may be necessary for the description to be useful for disambiguation.
identifier	PropertyValue URL Text	The identifier property represents any kind of identifier for any kind of Thing, such as ISBNs, GTIN codes, UUIDs etc.
image	URL ImageObject	An image of the item. This can be a URL or a fully described ImageObject.
instanceOf	Enumeration	Type to which this subject belongs. Use for membership in a value set (Enumeration), not inheritance. Example: K2 instanceOf mountain; volcano subClassOf mountain.
mainEntityOfPage	URL CreativeWork	Indicates a page (or other CreativeWork) for which this thing is the main entity being described. See background notes for details.
name	Text	The name of the item.
potentialAction	Action	Indicates a potential Action, which describes an idealized action in which this thing would play an 'object' role.
sameAs	URL	URL of a reference Web page that unambiguously indicates the item's identity. E.g. the URL of the item's Wikipedia page, Wikidata entry, or official website.
subjectOf	Event CreativeWork	A CreativeWork or Event about this Thing.
url	URL	URL of the item.