Anatomical Position and Directional Terms

Deep

Away from the body surface; more internal EX: The lungs are deep to the rib cage

Posterior (dorsal)*

Toward or at the backside of the body; behind EX: The heart is posterior to the breastbone *Posterior and dorsal are synonyms in humans, but not in four-legged animals. Dorsal refers to the "back" of an animal and thus is the superior surface of four-legged animals.

Superficial

Toward or at the body surface EX: The skin is superficial to the skeleton

Inferior (caudal)

Away from the head end or toward the lower part of a structure or the body; below EX: The navel is inferior to the breastbone

Lateral

Away from the midline of the body; on the outer side of EX: The arms are lateral to the chest

Intermediate

Between a more medial and more lateral structure EX: The armpit is intermediate between the breastbone and shoulder

Describe the anatomical position...

Body erect, eyes forward, arms on sides, palms facing forward, legs slightly spread, feet/toes pointing down

Distal

Farther from the origin of a body part or the point of attachment of a limb to the body trunk EX: The knee is distal to the thigh

Superior (cranial or cephalad)

Toward the head end or upper part of a structure or the body; above EX: The forehead is superior to the nose

Proximal

Close to the origin of the body part or the point of attachment of a limb to the body trunk EX: The elbow is proximal to the wrist (meaning that the elbow is closer to the shoulder or attachment point of the arm than the wrist is)

Anterior (ventral)*

Toward or at the front of the body; in front of EX: The breastbone is anterior to the spine *Anterior and ventral are synonyms in humans, but not in four-legged animals. Ventral refers to the "belly" of an animal and thus is the inferior surface of four-legged animals.

Medial

Toward or at the midline of the body; on the inner side of EX: The heart is medial to the arm