 | Anatomical terms of location: Encyclopedia II - Anatomical terms of location - Directions
Anatomical terms of location - Directions
Anatomical terms of location - General usage
Animals typically have one end with a head and mouth, with the opposite end often having the anus and tail. The head end is the cranial end; the tail end is the caudal end. Within the head itself, rostral refers to the direction toward the end of the nose, and caudal is still used to refer to the tail direction.
The surface or side of the body normally oriented upwards, away from the pull of gravity, is the dorsal side; the opposite side, typically the one closest to the ground when walking on all legs, swimming or flying, is the ventral side. For example: in vertebrates, the spine or nerve chord is located on the dorsal side of the organism. A cow's udder is on the ventral side. A dolphin's dorsal fin is, unsurprisingly, on the dorsal side.
On the limbs or other appendages, a point closer to the main body is "proximal"; a point farther away is "distal".
The right and left side (sometimes in Latin: dexter - right, and sinister - left) are given as viewed from the animal that is described.
Anatomical terms of location - Usage in human anatomy
In human anatomy, the body and its parts are always described using the assumption that the body is in anatomical position (main article), i.e. standing upright.
Portions of the body which are closer to the head end are "superior" ("upper"); those which are farther away are "inferior" ("lower") -- superior corresponds to cranial, and inferior to caudal. Objects near the front are "anterior"; those near the rear are "posterior" -- these correspond respectively to "ventral" and "dorsal".
The terms "anterior" and "posterior" should not be used when referring to most animals however, and are particularly incorrect for quadrupeds. In this case, rostral/cranial and caudal are more appropriate.
Please visit the anatomical position page for more information for terminology for human anatomy.
Other related archivesAnatomy, CT scans, Glossaries, Latin, MRI scans, Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria, PET scans, Rotation, anatomical position, anatomy, angle, animals, ankle, bilateral, bladder, coordinate system, dog, elbow, eye, fibula, flatfoot, gastric reflux, human anatomy, medical imaging, organs, paw, pleura, quadrupeds, radius, spine, tibia, ulna, urethra, vertebrates, wrist, zootomy
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