Directional

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Medical Term	Description
ab-	away from
ad-	toward, increase
ambi-	both, both sides, around
ante-	forward, before
anter/o	front
anterior	front
apo-	separate, away from
cata-	down
circum-	around
contra-	against, opposite
deep	Below the surface of the skin or within body cavity or limbs.
dextr/o	right
dist/o	distant, far
distal	farthest from the origin
dors/o	back of body
dorsum	top of the foot
ecto-	out, outward
en-	in, within
endo-	within
epi-	above, on, following
eso-	inward
ex-	out, away from
frontal coronal plane	Separates the body's anterior and posterior
inferior	below
infra-	below, down, under
inter-	between
ipsi-	same
later/o	side
lateral	Away from the body's midline
levo-	left
medi/o	middle
medial	Toward the body's midline
peri-	around, surrounding
post-	after, behind, back
posterior	back
pre-	before, in front of
prone	Lying on the abdomen
proxim/o	nearest
proximal	Nearest to the point of attachment to the trunk
retro-	backward
sagittal plane	separates the body's left and right sections
sinistr/o	left
sub-	under, below
superficial	near the surface
superior	above
supine	lying face up
supra-	above, upward
tel/o	complete, end
trans-	across, through
transverse horizontal plane	separates the body's upper and lower sections
ventr/o	front, belly side

Authors and Reviewers

Authored by Dr. Barbara A. Erickson
Medically reviewed by Dr. Jonathan Keroes, MD
Last Update: 12/18/2022