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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anatomical terms of location | 4/5 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_location | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:26:06.044970+00:00 | kb-cron |
Special terms are used to describe the mouth and teeth. Fields such as osteology, paleontology 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" (or "mesial") are used for surfaces of individual teeth relative to the midpoint of the dental arch, and "medial" and "lateral" are used in the standard sense relative to the median plane. Terms used to describe structures include "buccal" (from Latin bucca 'cheek') and "palatal" (from Latin palatum 'palate') referring to structures close to the cheek and hard palate respectively.
=== Hands and feet ===
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 describing 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. 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 palm of the hand, and can also be used to refer to the sole of the foot. But palmar is used exclusively for the palm of the hand, and plantar is used exclusively for the sole of the foot. Similarly, in the limbs for clarity, the sides are named after the bones. In the forearm, 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, such as the distal radioulnar joint. Similarly, in the lower leg, structures near the tibia (shinbone) are tibial and structures near the fibula are fibular (or peroneal).
=== Rotational direction ===
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.
Anteversion (from Latin anteversus) describes an anatomical structure being tilted further forward than normal, whether pathologically or incidentally. For example, a person'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. 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). Terminal (from Latin terminus 'boundary or end') at the extremity of a usually projecting structure; forming the end of a structure such as an axon terminal. Visceral (from Latin viscera 'internal organs'): associated with the innermost layer of an organ within the body. For example, the visceral pleura covering the lungs, contrasted with the parietal pleura lining the thoracic cavity. Parietal (from Latin paries 'wall'): pertaining to the wall of a body cavity as the parietal pleura lining the thoracic cavity, contrasted with visceral pleura. Aboral (away from oral) is used to denote a location in an organism that is further from the mouth.