A&P TERMINOLOGY
BODY DIRECTIONS
Superior: above (ex: head is superior to feet).
Inferior: below (ex: feet are inferior to the head).
Cephalic: relative term meaning nearer to the head (ex: collar bone is cephalic to the sternum).
Caudal: relative term meaning nearer to the tail (ex: sternum is caudal to the collar bone).
Anterior: toward the front of the body (ex: the nose is anterior to the brain).
Posterior: toward the back of the body (ex: the brain is posterior to the nose).
Ventral: toward the belly; equivalent to anterior (ex: the breast is ventral to the spine).
Dorsal: toward the back; equivalent to posterior (ex: the spine is dorsal to the breast).
Proximal: nearer to point of reference or attachment (ex: the shoulder is proximal to the elbow or the elbow is proximal to the wrist).
Distal: farther away from a point of reference or attachment (ex: the elbow is distal to the shoulder or the wrist is distal to the elbow.
Lateral: away from the median plane of the body (ex: the shoulder is lateral to the head or the ear is lateral to the brain).
Medial: toward median plane of the body (ex: the head is medial to the shoulder or the nose is medial to the cheek).
Superficial: toward, at, or pertaining to the surface (ex: the skin is superficial to the muscles).
Deep: away from or below the surface (ex: the muscles are deep to the skin).
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