MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Lateral orientation

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Lateral orientation

A lateral orientation is a position away from the midline of the body. For instance, the arms are lateral to the chest, and the ears are lateral to the head. A medial orientation is a position toward the midline of the body. An example of medial orientation is the eyes, which are medial to the ears on the head.

Update Date: 7/25/2007

Updated by: Andrew L. Chen, M.D., M.S., Orthopedist, The Alpine Clinic, Littleton, NH. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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