Theodore Dimon - Anatomy of the Moving Body

Copyright 2001, 2008 by Theodore Dimon, Jr. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwisewithout the written permission of the publisher. For information contact North Atlantic Books.

Published by North Atlantic Books
P.O. Box 12327
Berkeley, California 94712

Cover by Brad Greene

Anatomy of the Moving Body is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit educational corporation whose goals are to develop an educational and cross-cultural perspective linking various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nurture a holistic view of the arts, sciences, humanities, and healing; and to publish and distribute literature on the relationship of mind, body, and nature.

North Atlantic Books publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, call 800-733-3000 or visit our website at www.northatlanticbooks.com.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows: Dimon, Theodore.
Anatomy of the moving body : a basic course in bones, muscles, and joints / Theodore Dimon, Jr.; with illustrations by John Qualter. 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Presents information on muscles, bones, and joints. Intended for dancers, movement educators, and therapistsProvided by publisher.
eISBN: 978-1-58394-687-9
1. Musculoskeletal systemAnatomy. 2. Human locomotion. 3. Alexander technique. I. Qualter, John. II. Title.
QM100.D56 2008
611.7dc22

2008008586

v3.1

Other books by Theodore Dimon, Jr.

THE BODY IN MOTION:
Its Evolution and Design

ELEMENTS OF SKILL:
A Conscious Approach to Learning

THE UNDIVIDED SELF:
Alexander Technique and the Control of Stress

YOUR BODY, YOUR VOICE:
The Key to Natural Singing and Speaking

To my grandfather,
PANOS DIMON,
with unbounded love

Anatomical planes

Anatomical directions

The skull

The base of the skull

Flexors and extensors attaching to base of skull

Muscles supporting hyoid bone and larynx

Base of the skull and muscles of the throat

Muscles and joint of jaw

Muscles of facial expression

Muscles of the jaw

Suspensory muscles of the larynx

Suspensory muscles of the larynx (cont.)

The tongue

Muscles on the floor of mouth

Muscles of palate

Muscles of the throat

The pharynx

The larynx

Intrinsic muscles of the larynx

Anterior muscles of cervical spine

The vertebrae and spine

Atlas and axis (C1 and C2)

The skull and head/neck joints

Ligaments of the spine

Lower spine showing pinched disc

Back muscles: 1st layer (transversospinalis muscles)

Back muscles: 1st layer (cont.)

The sub-occipital muscles

Back muscles: 2nd layer (sacrospinalis or erector spinae)

Back muscles: 3rd layer

Back muscles: 4th layer

Back muscles: 5th (superficial) layer

Muscles attaching to the front of the spine

The rib cage

The costovertebral joints

Ribs during exhalation and inhalation

The intercostal muscles

Transversus thoracis

The diaphragm

The abdominal muscles

Rectus abdominis muscle

The scalene muscles

Suspensory muscles of the thorax

Muscles of the thorax (cont.)

Joints of shoulder girdle

Scapula and shoulder joint

Trapezius, teres major, and latissimus dorsi

Scapula muscles

Serratus anterior and pectoral muscles

The rotator cuff muscles

The deltoid muscle

Flexors of the arm

Triceps brachii muscle

Bones of elbow and forearm

Supinators and pronators of the forearm

Bones of wrist and hand

Joints of the wrist

Joints of the thumb

Extensors and flexors of wrist

Flexors of digits

Extensors of digits

Intrinsic muscles of the thumb

Intrinsic muscles of the little finger

Interossei and lumbricals

The pelvis, the right innominate bone

Landmarks of the pelvis

The hip joint and femur

Ligaments of the pelvis

Ligaments of the hip joint

The iliopsoas muscle

The deep muscles of the hip

The gluteals

The adductors

Muscles of the thigh

The quadriceps muscles

The hamstring muscles

The knee joint

Bones of lower leg

The ankle joint

Ligaments of the ankle

Bones of foot

Joints of the foot

Anterior muscles of the leg

Lateral muscles of the leg (peroneal muscles)

Muscles on the back of the leg

Muscles on the back of the leg (cont.)

Intrinsic extensors of the foot

Interossei muscles

Intrinsic muscles of the little toe

Intrinsic muscles of the big toe

Intrinsic flexors of the toes

Arches of the foot

Although this book was originally conceived as a set of lectures complemented by simple line drawings, this new edition features highly detailed and graphic three-dimensional illustrations, making it a far more complete reference than the first edition. Based on an accurate digital model of the musculoskeletal system, the muscle and bone images are now more clearly shown and presented from the most advantageous angle.

I would like to thank John Qualter, co-founder of Biodigital Systems, for supporting this project and for his vision and patience in putting together a digital model of the entire human anatomy. I would like to thank Lauren Edgar and John Reusch at Biodigital Systems for their excellent work in creating the illustrations, many of which had to be modeled from scratch.

I would also like to thank Darryl Lajeunesse and CD Media Studio for creating the elegant and detailed digital musculoskeletal model that served as the foundation for this project.

Thanks to Sarah Serafimidis of North Atlantic Books for her work on the earlier edition of this book and for her input on the new one. Finally, thanks to project editors Hisae Matsuda and Jessica Sevey, art director, Paula Morrison at North Atlantic Books, and to Brad Greene, designer of the new edition.

This book was originally written as a series of lectures for a basic course in anatomy given at the Dimon Institute for the Alexander Technique in New York City. Its purpose is to provide teachers and students of movement with a basic text covering all the muscles, bones, and joints relating to movement. More specifically, it is designed for movement educators who are putting together their own courses on anatomy and require a basic manual to work from that provides, not just drawings and names of anatomical structures, but written lectures which tie this material together into a coherent series of presentations. The lectures also provide sufficient explanation to enable the book to serve as a self-help manual for students of movement and dance.

The overwhelming consideration in putting together this bookand the feature, I think, that distinguishes it from many others on the subjecthas been simplicity and clarity of presentation. Anatomy as a subject matter has developed in close association with medical science; as such, anatomical texts tend to be highly technical and detailed, and often seem designed more to intimidate and impress than to enlighten. For many, such books not only fail to convey the necessary and relevant information about anatomy as it pertains to movement; they also contain much that is irrelevant and unnecessary to such study. In the process of giving too much detail, they also fail to explain how muscles and bones work in simple terms, and so further obfuscate the real issue for students and teachers of movement, which is not merely to know, but to understand.