Lateral

Lateral refers to the anatomical direction denoting the side of the body or a body part that is farther from the middle or center of the body. Typically, lateral refers to the outer side of the body part, but it is also used to refer to the side of a body part. For example, when referring to the knee, lateral refers to the side of the knee farthest from the opposite knee.

Anatomy

In anatomy, lateral describes something on the outer side of the body or away from its midline. It is used to describe any aspect of the body that is more towards the sides than the center. For example, the little finger is lateral to the thumb.

Medicine

In medicine, lateral is used to describe the side of an injury or the side of the body the injury is located. For example, a lateral injury to the right leg would be an injury on the right side of the right leg.

Radiology

In radiology, a lateral view is a view of an image from the side. For example, a lateral X-ray would show the side view of the body part being imaged.

See also

• Anatomical terms of location
• Medial (anatomy)