Anterior: In front of, front Posterior: After, behind, following, toward the rear
Distal: Away from, farther from the origin
Proximal: Near, closer to the origin
Dorsal: Near the upper surface, toward the back
Ventral: Toward the bottom, toward the belly
Superior: Above, over
Inferior: Below, under
Lateral: Toward the side, away from the mid-line
Medial: Toward the mid-line, middle, away from the side
Rostral: Toward the front
Caudal: Toward the back, toward the tail
Bilateral: Involving both sides of the body
Unilateral: Involving one side of the body
Ipsilateral: On the same side of the body
Contralateral: On opposite sides of the body
Parietal: Relating to a body cavity wall
Visceral: Relating to organs within body cavities
Axial: Around a central axis
Intermediate: Between two structures Abduction and Adduction Abduction and adduction are two terms that are used to describe movements towards or away from the midline of the body. Abduction is a movement away from the midline – just as abducting someone is to take them away. For example, abduction of the shoulder raises the arms out to the sides of the body. Adduction is a movement towards the midline. Adduction of the hip squeezes the legs together. In fingers and toes, the midline used is not the midline of the body, but of the hand and foot respectively. Therefore, abducting the fingers spreads them out. Medial and Lateral Rotation Medial and lateral rotation describe movement of the limbs around their long axis: Medial rotation is a rotational movement towards the midline. It is sometimes referred to as internal rotation. To understand this, we have two scenarios to imagine. Firstly, with a straight leg, rotate it to point the toes inward. This is medial rotation of the hip. Secondly, imagine you are carrying a tea tray in front of you, with elbow at 90 degrees. Now rotate the arm, bringing your hand towards your opposite hip (elbow still at 90 degrees). This is internal rotation of the shoulder. Lateral rotation is a rotating movement away from the midline. This is in the opposite direction to the movements described above. Circumduction is the movement of the limb, hand, or fingers in a circular pattern, using the sequential combination of flexion, adduction, extension, and abduction motions. Adduction/abduction and circumduction take place at the shoulder, hip, wrist, metacarpophalangeal, and metatarsophalangeal joints.
Circumduction is the circular movement of a limb, for an arm the
palm would remain facing the same direction as the arm describes a conical motion. Rotation is the turning around the axis.