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AnatomyBasicsTerminologyLateral
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AnatomyBasicsTerminologyLateral

Lateral

Author: Edwin Ocran, MBChB, MSc •
Last reviewed: October 30, 2023
Reading time: 1 minute

Recommended video: Directional terms and body planes [10:35]
Locating structures in your body is one of the main components of anatomy. Learn all terms used to describe location in the human body.
Lateral
Lateralis
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Synonyms: Lateral

The term lateral is a directional term that is used to describe the position of a structure relative to the median plane and the sides of the body. More specifically, it describes how further away a structure is from the median plane of the body.

The term medial is the opposite of lateral, and denotes how close a structure is to the median plane of the body.

For example, the ear is lateral to the eye, which is in turn lateral to the nose. Alternatively, the nose is medial to the eye.

Terminology English: Lateral
Latin: Lateralis
Examples Lateral malleolus, Lateral ventricle

Learn all the directional terms and body planes with the following study unit:

Directional terms and body planes Explore study unit

Sources

All content published on Kenhub is reviewed by medical and anatomy experts. The information we provide is grounded on academic literature and peer-reviewed research. Kenhub does not provide medical advice. You can learn more about our content creation and review standards by reading our content quality guidelines.

Drake RL, Vogl AW, Mitchell WMA. Gray’s anatomy for students. 4th ed. 2020.

Moore, K. L., Dalley, A. F., & Agur, A. (2017). Clinically oriented anatomy (8th ed.). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

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