Ventral

Pertaining to the front or anterior of a structure. Ventral comes from the Latin "venter" meaning belly. Something that is ventral is oriented toward the belly, toward the front of the body. The ribs are paired elastic arches of bone that extend from the vertebrae toward the ventral aspect of the trunk, toward the ventral midline. The umbilicus (belly button) is in the ventral midline. The opposite of ventral is dorsal which comes from the Latin "dorsum" meaning "back". The ventral surface of the hand is the palm, which is opposite the dorsum of the hand. The ventral surface of the foot is the sole, which is opposite the dorsum of the foot.

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1. Pertaining to the belly or to any venter. 2. SYN: anterior (1). 3. In veterinary anatomy, the undersurface of an animal; often used to indicate the position of one structure relative to another, i.e., situated nearer the undersurface of the body. [L. ventralis]

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ven·tral 'ven-trəl adj

1) of or relating to the belly: ABDOMINAL

2 a) being or located near, on, or toward the lower surface of an animal (as a quadruped) opposite the back or dorsal surface

b) being or located near, on, or toward the front or anterior part of the human body

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adj.

relating to or situated at or close to the front of the body or to the anterior part of an organ.

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ven·tral (venґtrəl) [L. ventralis] 1. pertaining to the abdomen or to any venter. 2. denoting a position more toward the belly surface than some other object of reference; a synonym of anterior in human anatomy and of inferior in quadruped anatomy.