Anatomical Locations in the Brain

Ipsilateral

Same side of the body.

Contralateral

Opposite sides of the body.

Bilateral

Both sides of the body.

Proximal

Close to one another.

Distal

Far from one another.

Afferent

Any movement toward a brain structure.

Efferent

Any movement away from a brain structure.

Anatomical locations of the brain are described within 3 reference frames: with respect to ___, with respect to ___, or with respect to ___.

Other body parts; relative location; a viewer’s perspective

The anatomical locations with respect to other body parts:

Rostral, caudal, dorsal, ventral

Occasionally, dorsal and ventral are referred to as:

Superior and inferior

The anatomical locations with respect to relative location (the face):

Anterior, frontal, posterior, lateral, medial

The anatomical locations with respect to a viewer’s perspective:

Coronal, horizontal, sagittal

Rostral

Toward the beak.

Caudal

Toward the tail.

Dorsal

Toward the back.

Ventral

Toward the stomach.

Superior

Dorsally.

Inferior

Ventrally.

Anterior

In front of the face.

Posterior

Behind the face.

Lateral

At the side of the face, away from the midline.

Medial

At the center of the face, toward the midline of the brain.

Coronal

The section cut in a vertical plane from the crown of the head down, revealing a frontal view of the brain.

Horizontal

The section cut along the horizon, which produces a dorsal view of the brain.

Sagittal

The section cut lengthways, front to back of the head, revealing a medial view from the side.

Frontal view

Looking at the brain through the face:

Dorsal view

Looking down at the brain from above:

Medial view

Looking in the brain from the side: