What is the difference between medial lateral and proximal distal?

What is the difference between medial lateral and proximal distal?

Lateral is the side of the body or part of the body that is away from the middle. So arms are lateral to the torso while the torso is medial to the arms. Proximal then refers to something closer to the torso while distal refers to parts and places away from the torso.

What does proximal medial mean?

Medial refers to anything toward the center of the body. (The opposite is lateral.) Proximal refers to a point closer to a reference point. (The opposite is distal.)

What does lateral medial mean?

Medial – toward the midline of the body (example, the middle toe is located at the medial side of the foot). Lateral – away from the midline of the body (example, the little toe is located at the lateral side of the foot).

What does medial side mean?

Medial means toward the middle or center. It is the opposite of lateral. The term is used to describe general positions of body parts. For example, the chest is medial to the arm.

What part of the body is distal to the knee?

ankle
The ankle is distal to the knee.

What does medial mean in anatomy?

toward the middle
Medial means toward the middle or center. It is the opposite of lateral. The term is used to describe general positions of body parts. For example, the chest is medial to the arm.

What does medial mean in medicine?

Is the knee distal or proximal to the hip?

The femur is the longest bone in the human skeleton. It functions in supporting the weight of the body and allowing motion of the leg. The femur articulates proximally with the acetabulum of the pelvis forming the hip joint, and distally with the tibia and patella to form the knee joint.

What’s the difference between medial and lateral?

A lateral orientation is a position away from the midline of the body. For instance, the arms are lateral to the chest, and the ears are lateral to the head. A medial orientation is a position toward the midline of the body. An example of medial orientation is the eyes, which are medial to the ears on the head.

What does distal mean in biology?

(DIS-tul) In medicine, refers to a part of the body that is farther away from the center of the body than another part. For example, the fingers are distal to the shoulder. The opposite is proximal.

What is the difference between medial and lateral?

Lateral refers to a point of reference to the outside or away from the center of the body, while medial indicates a point of reference toward the middle of the body. The heart is more medial than the lungs, and the knee is more medial than the foot.

What is the definition of distal and proximal?

Proximal and distal are terms that are used to indicate distances from a standard point of reference. These are terms that are mostly used in the medical world and not used commonly in daily conversation. Proximal is the opposite of distal. This article takes a closer look at proximal and distal to come up with their differences.

What is the definition of proximal?

Proximal means nearer to the center (trunk of the body) or to the point of attachment to the body. If another reference point is given, such as the heart, the proximal point of another organ or extremity is the point closest to the heart, central rather than peripheral.

What does proximal mean in medical terms?

In medical terminology, distal and proximal, or distally and proximally, describe anatomical locations. Proximal means closest to, and distal means farthest away. With reference to a wound on an arm, distal to the wound would be past the wound toward the fingers.