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.
Review Date: 06/04/2011
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of
Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of
Medicine; and C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Assistant Professor, Chief,
Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Dept of Orthopaedic
Surgery. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director,
A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
