Directional terms describe where one body part is in relation to another, always as if the body were in the anatomical position: standing upright, facing forward, arms at the sides with the palms facing forward. The main pairs are superior/inferior (above/below), anterior/posterior (front/back), medial/lateral (toward/away from the midline), proximal/distal (nearer to/farther from where a limb attaches) and superficial/deep (nearer to/farther from the surface).
This guide lists the common directional terms with their meanings and examples, compares humans with four-legged animals, then covers body planes, common mistakes and clinical phrases, and finishes with a 12-question quiz with answers and a short FAQ.
In this guide:
- The anatomical position
- Directional terms list with examples
- Humans vs. four-legged animals
- Body planes and sections
- Common mistakes
- Directional terms in clinical phrases
- Directional terms quiz
- Frequently asked questions
The Anatomical Position: Where Every Term Starts
In the anatomical position, the body stands upright with the head and eyes facing forward, the arms at the sides with the palms facing forward (so the thumbs point away from the body), and the feet flat on the floor and parallel, toes pointing forward.
Every directional term assumes this position, whatever the patient is actually doing. A patient lying in bed is still described as if standing, so the head is always superior to the chest and the palm is always the anterior surface of the hand. This shared reference point lets everyone describe the same spot in the same words.
Two more rules: left and right always mean the patient's left and right, never the viewer's, and the terms are relative. The knee is inferior to the hip but superior to the ankle.
Directional Terms List With Meanings and Examples
Most directional terms come in opposite pairs, so learn them two at a time. Each example assumes the anatomical position.
| Term | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Superior | Above; toward the head | The nose is superior to the mouth. |
| Inferior | Below; away from the head | The stomach is inferior to the diaphragm. |
| Cranial (cephalic) | Toward the head end of the body | The chest is cranial to the abdomen. |
| Caudal | Toward the lower (tail) end of the body | The sacrum is caudal to the lumbar vertebrae. |
| Anterior (ventral) | Toward the front | The sternum (breastbone) is anterior to the heart. |
| Posterior (dorsal) | Toward the back | The spine is posterior to the heart. |
| Medial | Toward the midline | The nose is medial to the eyes. |
| Lateral | Away from the midline | The thumb is lateral to the little finger. |
| Intermediate | Between a more medial and a more lateral structure | The ring finger is intermediate between the middle and little fingers. |
| Proximal | Closer to where a limb attaches to the trunk, or to a structure's origin | The elbow is proximal to the wrist. |
| Distal | Farther from where a limb attaches to the trunk, or from a structure's origin | The fingers are distal to the wrist. |
| Superficial | Closer to the body surface | The skin is superficial to the muscles. |
| Deep | Farther from the body surface | The femur is deep to the quadriceps muscles. |
| Ipsilateral | On the same side of the body | The right arm and right leg are ipsilateral. |
| Contralateral | On the opposite side of the body | A stroke in the left side of the brain usually weakens the contralateral (right) side of the body. |
| Bilateral | On both sides | Bilateral hearing loss affects both ears. |
| Unilateral | On one side only | Unilateral hearing loss affects one ear. |
| Palmar (volar) | The palm side of the hand | Fingerprints are on the palmar side of the fingertips. |
| Dorsal (hand) | The back of the hand | The fingernails are on the dorsal side of the fingers. |
| Plantar | The sole of the foot | Plantar warts grow on the sole. |
| Dorsal (foot), dorsum | The top of the foot | The dorsalis pedis pulse is felt on the dorsum of the foot. |
| Rostral | Toward the nose or front of the head; in the brainstem and spinal cord, upward toward the brain. Used mainly in neuroanatomy | The frontal lobe is rostral to the occipital lobe. |
Proximal and Distal: Measured From the Trunk
On a limb, proximal and distal are measured from where the limb attaches to the trunk: the shoulder for the upper limb, the hip for the lower limb. The ankle is distal to the knee. The same words are used along tubes such as the digestive tract, measured from where the tube begins: the distal esophagus is the end closest to the stomach. For blood vessels, proximal means closer to the heart, for veins as well as arteries: a proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a clot in the popliteal vein behind the knee or in a larger vein above it.
Region-Specific Terms: Hand, Foot and Brain
- Hand: the palm side is palmar (or volar); the back of the hand is dorsal.
- Foot: the sole is plantar; the top is the dorsum. That is why pointing the toes down is plantar flexion and lifting the top of the foot toward the shin is dorsiflexion.
- Brain: rostral (from the Latin rostrum, beak) means toward the nose. Because the human forebrain sits at roughly a right angle to the brainstem and spinal cord, rostral means toward the front of the head in the cerebrum but upward (superior) in the brainstem and spinal cord. Its opposite is caudal, which means toward the back of the head in the cerebrum and downward (inferior) in the brainstem and spinal cord.
Many of these terms are built from familiar prefixes: ipsi- (same), contra- (against, opposite), bi- (two), uni- (one) and para- (beside or near, as in parasagittal; it can also mean beyond or abnormal). See our list of medical prefixes and suffixes with meanings and examples for many more.
Humans vs. Four-Legged Animals
Ventral, dorsal, cranial and caudal follow the body itself, not up and down, so they line up differently in people and in four-legged animals:
- In a standing human, ventral means anterior, dorsal means posterior, cranial corresponds to superior and caudal to inferior. The exceptions are the foot, whose top is called the dorsum, and the forebrain, where dorsal means toward the top of the head and ventral toward the base of the brain.
- In a four-legged animal such as a dog, the dorsal side (the back) faces up, the ventral side (the belly) faces the ground, cranial points forward toward the head and caudal points backward toward the tail.
So the belly is ventral in both, but it faces forward in a person and downward in a dog.
Body Planes and Sections
A plane is an imaginary flat surface through the body. A section is a cut, or an image slice, made along that plane.
| Plane (other names) | What it divides |
|---|---|
| Sagittal | A vertical plane dividing the body into right and left parts |
| Midsagittal (median) | The sagittal plane through the midline, dividing the body into right and left halves |
| Parasagittal | A sagittal plane off the midline, dividing the body into unequal right and left parts |
| Frontal (coronal) | A vertical plane dividing the body into anterior (front) and posterior (back) parts |
| Transverse (horizontal, axial) | A horizontal plane dividing the body into superior (upper) and inferior (lower) parts; it produces cross sections |
| Oblique | A slanted plane, not parallel to any of the planes above |
Memory aids: sagitta is Latin for arrow, so picture an arrow shot through the body from front to back; a coronal plane runs from ear to ear, like a headband. CT and MRI images use the same names: axial, sagittal and coronal.
For labeled diagrams, see the free OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology chapter on anatomical terminology and the National Cancer Institute's SEER training page on anatomical terminology.
Common Mistakes With Directional Terms
- Using proximal to mean "close to the midline." That is medial. Proximal means closer to where a limb attaches to the trunk: the shoulder is proximal to the elbow.
- Using your own left and right. Left and right are always the patient's. When you face a patient, or look at a standard chest X-ray or CT image, the patient's left is on your right.
- Forgetting that the palms face forward. The thumb is lateral, so the radius, on the thumb side of the forearm, is lateral to the ulna.
- Calling the sole dorsal. The dorsum of the foot is the top; the sole is plantar.
- Mixing up superior and superficial. Superior is about up and down (toward the head); superficial is about depth (toward the body surface).
- Changing the terms when the patient lies down. A patient lying supine (face up) or prone (face down) is still described as if standing in the anatomical position.
Directional Terms in Real Clinical Phrases
- Distal radius fracture: a break in the radius near the wrist.
- Proximal humerus fracture: a break in the upper arm bone near the shoulder.
- Medial meniscus: the C-shaped cartilage pad on the inner side of the knee.
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT): a blood clot in a deep vein, usually in the leg, rather than in a superficial vein just under the skin.
- Contralateral weakness: weakness on the side opposite a brain injury such as a stroke.
- Bilateral pneumonia: pneumonia in both lungs.
Directional Terms Quiz (12 Questions)
Answer on paper first, then check below. Assume the anatomical position.
1. In the anatomical position, which way do the palms face?
a) backward
b) forward
c) toward the thighs
d) downward
2. Which term is a synonym for posterior in the human body?
a) ventral
b) dorsal
c) caudal
d) rostral
3. What does caudal mean?
a) toward the head
b) toward the lower (tail) end of the body
c) toward the side
d) toward the surface
4. On a limb, what does proximal mean?
a) closer to the midline
b) closer to where the limb attaches to the trunk
c) closer to the surface
d) toward the front
5. The wrist is ____ to the elbow.
a) proximal
b) distal
c) superior
d) medial
6. The thumb is ____ to the little finger.
a) medial
b) lateral
c) contralateral
d) deep
7. The skin is ____ to the skeletal muscles.
a) deep
b) superficial
c) proximal
d) contralateral
8. A stroke in the left side of the brain weakens the right arm. The weakness is:
a) ipsilateral to the stroke
b) contralateral to the stroke
c) bilateral
d) proximal to the stroke
9. Where is the plantar surface?
a) the top of the foot
b) the sole of the foot
c) the back of the hand
d) the palm
10. Which plane divides the body into anterior and posterior parts?
a) midsagittal
b) parasagittal
c) frontal (coronal)
d) transverse
11. CT scans are usually viewed as axial slices. Which plane is axial?
a) sagittal
b) coronal
c) transverse
d) oblique
12. A distal radius fracture is a break in the radius:
a) near the elbow
b) near the wrist
c) in both forearms
d) in the middle of the shaft
Answers
- b) forward. The thumbs then point away from the body.
- b) dorsal. Ventral is the synonym for anterior.
- b) toward the lower (tail) end of the body. In a standing human, caudal corresponds to inferior.
- b) closer to where the limb attaches to the trunk. Closer to the midline is medial.
- b) distal. The wrist is farther from the shoulder than the elbow is.
- b) lateral. With the palms forward, the thumb is on the side away from the midline.
- b) superficial. The skin is closer to the surface than the muscles beneath it.
- b) contralateral to the stroke. The main motor pathway crosses to the other side in the brainstem, so damage to one side of the brain usually affects the opposite side of the body.
- b) the sole of the foot. The top of the foot is the dorsum.
- c) frontal (coronal). Sagittal planes divide right from left; transverse planes divide upper from lower.
- c) transverse. Axial, transverse and horizontal all name the plane dividing upper from lower.
- b) near the wrist. The distal end of the radius is the end farthest from the shoulder.
For a longer test, try our free 50-question medical terminology quiz with answers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the directional terms of the body?
They are paired words that describe where one body part is relative to another: superior/inferior, anterior (ventral)/posterior (dorsal), medial/lateral, proximal/distal, superficial/deep, cranial/caudal and ipsilateral/contralateral. All of them assume the anatomical position.
What is the difference between proximal and medial?
Medial means closer to the midline of the body. Proximal means closer to where a limb attaches to the trunk, or to the origin of a structure. The elbow is proximal to the wrist; the big toe is on the medial side of the foot.
Is ventral the same as anterior?
In most of the human body, yes: both mean toward the front, and dorsal and posterior both mean toward the back. Two exceptions: the dorsum of the foot is its top, and in the forebrain (the part of the brain above the brainstem) dorsal means toward the top of the head and ventral toward the base of the brain. In four-legged animals they differ, because the ventral (belly) side faces the ground.
What is the difference between the sagittal, coronal and transverse planes?
A sagittal plane divides the body into right and left parts, a coronal (frontal) plane into front and back parts, and a transverse (axial) plane into upper and lower parts.
Is the anatomical position the same as supine?
No. The anatomical position is standing upright. Supine means lying face up and prone means lying face down, but directional terms are still applied as if the person were standing in the anatomical position.
Keep Going
Directional terms are easiest to learn on labeled diagrams. Our Anatomy & Physiology Workbook has over 500 questions and exercises, including labeling pictures, matching columns, true or false, multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions. Our Anatomy Coloring Book has 191 detailed, fully labeled illustrations on single-sided pages, so you learn each structure's name while you color. To connect these terms with the rest of medical language, see our Medical Terminology textbook, written by doctors, with more than 100,000 copies sold. You can see all our books on our Textbooks page.