Embryological Terminology - Dorsal | ventral dorsal
The anatomicaltermsoflocation[1] arevitaltounderstandingandusinganatomy. Theyhelptoavoidanyambiguitythatcanarisewhendescribingthelocationofstructures.Therearesometermsthatarespecificallyusedinthedescriptionofembryology,whichhavethepotentialtofurthercomplicateanalreadycomplexsubject!Inthisarticle,weshalllookattheanatomicaltermsoflocationusedindescribingembryologicalanatomy.CephalicandCaudalCephalic referstotheheadoftheembryo,whilecaudalreferstothetail(inferior)end. Cranialisoftenusedinsteadof...
The anatomical terms of location[1] are vital to understanding and using anatomy. They help to avoid any ambiguity that can arise when describing the location of structures.
There are some terms that are specifically used in the description of embryology, which have the potential to further complicate an already complex subject!
In this article, we shall look at the anatomical terms of location used in describing embryological anatomy.
Cephalic and CaudalCephalic refers to the head of the embryo, while caudal refers to the tail (inferior) end. Cranial is often used instead of cephalic when describing a location of one structure relative to another.
Examples:
The vitelline duct lies caudally to the primitive brain. The foregut is cranial to the midgut.[caption id="attachment_17763" align="aligncenter" width="396"] Fig 1 - Cephalic/caudal and ventral/dorsal.[/caption] Ventral and DorsalThe term ventral refers to the anterior (front) aspect of the ...