Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provides a definition of what is at the front (anterior), behind (posterior) and so on. As part of defining and describing terms, the body is described through the use of anatomical planes and anatomical axes.

The meaning of terms that are used can change depending on whether an organism is bipedal or quadrupedal. Additionally, for some animals such as invertebrates, some terms may not have any meaning at all; for example, an animal that is radially symmetrical will have no anterior surface, but can still have a description that a part is close to the middle (proximal) or further from the middle (distal).

International organisations have determined vocabularies that are often used as standard vocabularies for subdisciplines of anatomy, for example, Terminologia Anatomica for humans, and Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria for animals. These allow parties that use anatomical terms, such as anatomists, veterinarians, and medical doctors to have a standard set of terms to communicate clearly the position of a structure.

• 0D body center

• body lines

Organisms where the ends of the long axis are distinct. (Paramecium caudatum, above, and Stentor roeselii, below.) The axes of the body are lines drawn about which an organism is roughly symmetrical.[8] To do this, distinct ends of an organism are chosen, and the axis is named according to those directions. An organism that is symmetrical on both sides has three main axes that intersect at right angles. An organism that is round or not symmetrical may have different axes.Example axes are:

1. The anteroposterior axis
2. The cephalocaudal axis
3. The dorsoventral axis.

• body planes
• Anatomical planes in a human
• Main article: Anatomical plane
• Anatomical terms describe structures with relation to four main anatomical planes:

1. The median plane, which divides the body into left and right. This passes through the head, spinal cord, navel, and, in many animals, the tail.
2. The sagittal planes, which are parallel to the median plane.
3. The frontal plane, also called the coronal plane, which divides the body into front and back.
4. The horizontal plane, also known as the transverse plane, which is perpendicular to the other two planes. In a human, this plane is parallel to the ground; in a quadruped, this divides the animal into anterior and posterior sections.

• Body regions
• 3d region locations

Terms can be modified with prefixes and suffixes. In this image showing the jellyfish species Chrysaora, the prefix 'ab-', is used to indicate something that is 'away from' the mouth, for example the aboral. Other terms are combined to indicate axes, such as proximodistal axis. Several terms are commonly seen and used as prefixes:

• Sub- (from Latin sub 'preposition beneath, close to, nearly etc') is used to indicate something that is beneath, or something that is subordinate to or lesser than. For example, subcutaneous means beneath the skin, and subglobular may mean smaller than a globule
• Hypo- (from Ancient Greek ὑπό 'under') is used to indicate something that is beneath. For example, the hypoglossal nerve supplies the muscles beneath the tongue.
• Infra- (from Latin infra 'under') is used to indicate something that is within or below. For example, the infraorbital nerve runs within the orbit.
• Inter- (from Latin inter 'between') is used to indicate something that is between.For example, the intercostal muscles run between the ribs.
• Super- or Supra- (from Latin super, supra 'above, on top of') is used to indicate something that is above something else. For example, the supraorbital ridges are above the eyes.
• Other terms are used as suffixes, added to the end of words:

-ad (from Latin ad 'towards') and ab- (from Latin ab) are used to indicate that something is towards (-ad) or away from (-ab) something else. For example, distad means in the distal direction, and distad of the femur means beyond the femur in the distal direction. Further examples may include cephalad (towards the cephalic end), craniad, and distad.

• Superior and inferior

Superior (from Latin super 'above') describes what is above something and inferior (from Latin inferus 'below') describes what is below it. For example, in the anatomical position, the most superior part of the human body is the head and the most inferior is the feet. As a second example, in humans, the neck is superior to the chest but inferior to the head.

and

• Anterior and posterior

Anterior redirects here. For other uses, see Anterior (disambiguation). Anterior (from Latin ante 'before') describes what is in front, and posterior (from Latin post 'after') describes what is to the back of something. For example, in a dog the nose is anterior to the eyes and the tail is considered the most posterior part; in many fish the gill openings are posterior to the eyes but anterior to the tail.

and

• Medial and lateral

These terms describe how close something is to the midline, or the medial plane.Lateral (from Latin lateralis 'to the side') describes something to the sides of an animal, as in left lateral and right lateral. Medial (from Latin medius 'middle') describes structures close to the midline,or closer to the midline than another structure. For example, in a human, the arms are lateral to the torso. The genitals are medial to the legs.

and

The terms left and right are sometimes used, or their Latin alternatives (Latin: dexter, lit. 'right'; Latin: sinister, lit. 'left'). However, as left and right sides are mirror images, using these words is somewhat confusing, as structures are duplicated on both sides. For example, it is very confusing to say the dorsal fin of a dolphin is right of the left pectoral fin, but is left of the right eye, but much easier and clearer to say the dorsal fin is medial to the pectoral fins.

and

• Terms derived from lateral include:

Contralateral (from Latin contra 'against'): on the side opposite to another structure. For example, the right arm and leg are controlled by the left, contralateral, side of the brain. Ipsilateral (from Latin ipse 'same'): on the same side as another structure. For example, the left arm is ipsilateral to the left leg. Bilateral (from Latin bis 'twice'): on both sides of the body. For example, bilateral orchiectomy means removal of testes on both sides of the body. Unilateral (from Latin unus 'one'): on one side of the body. For example, a stroke can result in unilateral weakness, meaning weakness on one side of the body. Varus (from Latin 'knock-kneed') and valgus (from Latin 'bow-legged') are terms used to describe a state in which a part further away is abnormally placed towards (varus) or away from (valgus) the midline.

• Proximal and distal

Proximal and distal redirect here. For the linguistic terms, see Demonstrative § Distal and proximal demonstratives. For the dental terms, see Glossary of dentistry.

• Anatomical directional reference

The terms proximal (from Latin proximus 'nearest') and distal (from Latin distare 'to stand away from') are used to describe parts of a feature that are close to or distant from the main mass of the body, respectively.[30] Thus the upper arm in humans is proximal and the hand is distal.

and

Proximal and distal are frequently used when describing appendages, such as fins, tentacles, and limbs. Although the direction indicated by proximal and distal is always respectively towards or away from the point of attachment, a given structure can be either proximal or distal in relation to another point of reference. Thus the elbow is distal to a wound on the upper arm, but proximal to a wound on the lower arm.

This terminology is also employed in molecular biology and therefore by extension is also used in chemistry, specifically referring to the atomic loci of molecules from the overall moiety of a given compound.

• Central and peripheral

Central and peripheral refer to the distance towards and away from the centre of something. That might be an organ, a region in the body, or an anatomical structure. For example, the Central nervous system and the peripheral nervous systems.

and

Central (from Latin centralis) describes something close to the centre. For example, the great vessels run centrally through the body; many smaller vessels branch from these.

Peripheral (from Latin peripheria, originally from Ancient Greek) describes something further away from the centre of something.[34] For example, the arm is peripheral to the body.

• Superficial and deep

These terms refer to the distance of a structure from the surface.

Deep (from Old English) describes something further away from the surface of the organism. For example, the external oblique muscle of the abdomen is deep to the skin. Deep is one of the few anatomical terms of location derived from Old English rather than Latin – the anglicised Latin term would have been profound (from Latin profundus 'due to depth').

Superficial (from Latin superficies 'surface') describes something near the outer surface of the organism. For example, in skin, the epidermis is superficial to the subcutis.

and

• Dorsal and ventral

These two terms, used in anatomy and embryology, describe something at the back (dorsal) or front/belly (ventral) of an organism.

The dorsal (from Latin dorsum 'back') surface of an organism refers to the back, or upper side, of an organism. If talking about the skull, the dorsal side is the top.[38]

The ventral (from Latin venter 'belly') surface refers to the front, or lower side, of an organism.

and

For example, in a fish, the pectoral fins are dorsal to the anal fin, but ventral to the dorsal fin.

• Cranial and caudal

In the human skull, the terms rostral and caudal are adapted to the curved neuraxis of Hominidae Specific terms exist to describe how close or far something is to the head or tail of an animal. To describe how close to the head of an animal something is, three distinct terms are used:

Rostral (from Latin rostrum 'beak, nose') describes something situated toward the oral or nasal region, or in the case of the brain, toward the tip of the frontal lobe. Cranial (from Greek κρανίον 'skull') or cephalic (from Greek κεφαλή 'head') describes how close something is to the head of an organism. Caudal (from Latin cauda 'tail') describes how close something is to the trailing end of an organism. For example, in horses, the eyes are caudal to the nose and rostral to the back of the head.

, and

These terms are generally preferred in veterinary medicine and not used as often in human medicine. In humans, cranial and cephalic are used to refer to the skull, with cranial being used more commonly. The term rostral is rarely used in human anatomy, apart from embryology, and refers more to the front of the face than the superior aspect of the organism. Similarly, the term caudal is used more in embryology and only occasionally used in human anatomy.This is because the brain is situated at the superior part of the head whereas the nose is situated in the anterior part. Thus, the rostrocaudal axis refers to a C shape (see image).

The location of anatomical structures can also be described in relation to different anatomical landmarks. They are used in anatomy, surface anatomy, surgery, and radiology.

Structures may be described as being at the level of a specific spinal vertebra, depending on the section of the vertebral column the structure is at. The position is often abbreviated. For example, structures at the level of the fourth cervical vertebra may be abbreviated as C4, at the level of the fourth thoracic vertebra T4, and at the level of the third lumbar vertebra L3. Because the sacrum and coccyx are fused, they are not often used to provide the location.

References may also take origin from superficial anatomy, made to landmarks that are on the skin or visible underneath.[45] For example, structures may be described relative to the anterior superior iliac spine, the medial malleolus or the medial epicondyle.

Anatomical lines are used to describe anatomical location. For example, the mid-clavicular line is used as part of the cardiac exam in medicine to feel the apex beat of the heart.

Mouth and teeth Main article: Dental terminology Special terms are used to describe the mouth and teeth. Fields such as osteology, palaeontology and dentistry apply special terms of location to describe the mouth and teeth. This is because although teeth may be aligned with their main axes within the jaw, some different relationships require special terminology as well; for example, teeth also can be rotated, and in such contexts terms like anterior or lateral become ambiguous. For example, the terms distal and proximal are also redefined to mean the distance away or close to the dental arch, and medial and lateral are used to refer to the closeness to the midline of the dental arch.[48] Terms used to describe structures include buccal (from Latin bucca 'cheek') and palatal (from Latin) referring to structures close to the cheek and hard palate respectively.

Hands and feet

Anatomical terms used to describe a human hand Several anatomical terms are particular to the hands and feet.

Additional terms may be used to avoid confusion when describing the surfaces of the hand and what is the anterior or posterior surface – . The term anterior, while anatomically correct, can be confusing when describe the palm of the hand; Similarly is posterior, used to describe the back of the hand and arm. This confusion can arise because the forearm can pronate and supinate and flip the location of the hand. For improved clarity, the directional term palmar (from Latin palma 'palm of the hand') is commonly used to describe the front of the hand, and dorsal is the back of the hand. For example, the top of a dog's paw is its dorsal surface; the underside, either the palmar (on the forelimb) or the plantar (on the hindlimb) surface. The palmar fascia is palmar to the tendons of muscles which flex the fingers, and the dorsal venous arch is so named because it is on the dorsal side of the foot.

In humans, volar can also be used synonymously with palmar to refer to the underside of the palm, but plantar is used exclusively to describe the sole. These terms describe location as palmar and plantar; For example, volar pads are those on the underside of hands or fingers; the plantar surface describes the sole of the heel, foot or toes.

Similarly, in the forearm, for clarity, the sides are named after the bones. Structures closer to the radius are radial, structures closer to the ulna are ulnar, and structures relating to both bones are referred to as radioulnar. Similarly, in the lower leg, structures near the tibia (shinbone) are tibial and structures near the fibula are fibular (or peroneal).

Rotational direction

Image showing an anteverted uterus lying above the bladder (left), compared with a retroverted uterus undergoing bimanual examination facing towards the rectum (right) Anteversion and retroversion are complementary terms describing an anatomical structure that is rotated forwards (towards the front of the body) or backwards (towards the back of the body), relative to some other position. They are particularly used to describe the curvature of the uterus.[49][50]

Anteversion (from Latin anteversus) describes an anatomical structure being tilted further forward than normal, whether pathologically or incidentally.[49] For example, a woman's uterus typically is anteverted, tilted slightly forward. A misaligned pelvis may be anteverted, that is to say tilted forward to some relevant degree. Retroversion (from Latin retroversus) describes an anatomical structure tilted back away from something.[50] An example is a retroverted uterus. Other directional terms Several other terms are also used to describe location. These terms are not used to form the fixed axes. Terms include:

Axial (from Latin axis 'axle'): around the central axis of the organism or the extremity. Two related terms, abaxial and adaxial, refer to locations away from and toward the central axis of an organism, respectively.

Luminal (from Latin lumen 'light, opening'): on the—hollow—inside of an organ's lumen (body cavity or tubular structure); adluminal is towards, abluminal is away from the lumen. Opposite to outermost (the adventitia, serosa, or the cavity's wall).

Parietal (from Latin paries 'wall'): pertaining to the wall of a body cavity.[55] For example, the parietal peritoneum is the lining on the inside of the abdominal cavity. Parietal can also refer specifically to the parietal bone of the skull or associated structures.

Terminal (from Latin terminus 'boundary or end') at the extremity of a usually projecting structure. For example, …an antenna with a terminal sensory hair.

Visceral and viscus (from Latin viscera 'internal organs'): associated with organs within the body's cavities. For example, the stomach is covered with a lining called the visceral peritoneum as opposed to the parietal peritoneum. Viscus can also be used to mean organ. For example, the stomach is a viscus within the abdominal cavity, and visceral pain refers to pain originating from internal organs.

Aboral (opposite to oral) is used to denote a location along the gastrointestinal canal that is relatively closer to the anus.