Book 4 - Self Instructional Manual for Cancer Registrars - SEER ...

External Refers to locations which are toward the outside of a body ora specific organ, or outside a reference point. The ribs areexternal to the thoracic cavity.Internal Refers to locations which are within the inner portion of thebody, a specific organ, or a reference point. Internal may besynonymous with deep. The lungs are an internal referencepoint deep within the body.Central Refers to the primary parts of the central nervous system (thebrain and spinal cord) or to any axis of symmetry.Peripheral Refers to that part of a system outside the central portion. Theperipheral nervous system refers to the nerves connecting thecentral nervous system to all other parts of the body. Aperipheral lesion is located away from (medially, laterally,superior or inferior to) the middle of the organ.Parietal Refers to the wails of a cavity. The parietal pleura is thatportion of the pleura closest to the chest wall.Visceral Refers to the organs within the thoracic and abdominopelviccavities. The visceral pleura is that portion of the pleurainvesting the lungs themselves.Quadrant (quarter) One of the four corresponding parts, regions, or quarters intowhich the body or its parts may be divided for a more precisereference, such as the abdomen or each breast.Figure 2. ABDOMINAL QUADRANTSabbreviatedas follows:The abdominal quadrants 1 are __ __RUQ - right upper quadrant j _ _ tRLQ - right lower quadrant / J _7 _''': I_LUQ - left upper quadrant auo _/-_ _LUOLLQ - left lower quadrant RLO _-_ I.LO1See Section I, The Reproductive System, for specific use of quadrant location for cancers of thebreast.13