Lateral

Lateralis

Definition

Lateral is a term used to describe the location of a body part ‘away’ from the midline or the middle of the body. For instance, the little toe is located on the lateral side of the foot, or the ears are lateral to the eyes, meaning thereby that the ears are farther from the midline as compared to the eyes.

References

Text written by Muhammad A. Javaid, MD, PhD © 2023 IMAIOS.

  • Drake, R.L., Vogl, A.W. and Mitchell, A.W.M. (2009). ‘Chapter 1: The Body’ in Gray’s anatomy for Students. (2nd ed.) Philadelphia PA 19103-2899: Elsevier, pp. 6.

  • SEER Training Modules, Intro to the Human Body, Anatomical Terminology. U. S. National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. February 2nd, 2023 < https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/body/terminology.html>