Dorsal and Ventral: What Are They | Ventral
BackWhatAreThey,Differences,andMoreAuthor:GeorginaTiarksEditors:AlyssaHaag,KelseyLaFayette,BAN,RN Illustrator:JillianDunbarCopyeditor:JoyMapesWhatisdorsalandventral?Dorsalandventralarepairedanatomicaltermsusedtodescribeoppositelocationsonabody[2]thatisintheanatomicalposition.Theanatomicalpositionofahumanbodyisdefinedasabody[3]standinguprightwiththehead[4]facingforward,armsdownatthesideswiththepalmsturnedforward,andfeetparallelfacingforward.Onahumanbody,dorsal(i.e.,posterior)referstothebackpo...
BackWhat Are They, Differences, and MoreAuthor: Georgina Tiarks
Editors: Alyssa Haag, Kelsey LaFayette, BAN, RN
Illustrator: Jillian Dunbar
Copyeditor: Joy Mapes
What is dorsal and ventral?Dorsal and ventral are paired anatomical terms used to describe opposite locations on a body[2] that is in the anatomical position. The anatomical position of a human body is defined as a body[3] standing upright with the head[4] facing forward, arms down at the sides with the palms turned forward, and feet parallel facing forward. On a human body, dorsal (i.e., posterior) refers to the back portion of the body[5], whereas ventral (i.e., anterior) refers to the front part of the body[6].
The terms dorsal and ventral are also often used to describe the relative location of a body[7] part. For example, the stoma...