Glossary


Dog Paw Illustrating Proximal Directon

hover over shaded words to reveal more

Proximal
Relating to, or located towards, the centre of the main body. In the case of an appendage, such as a limb, this is towards the point of attachment to
the main body.
Opposite of distal.
This is often used as a relative term to indicate where something is located along the proximodistal axis, i.e. that it is nearer to the centre of the body or to the point of attachment to the main body.
For example, the wrist is distal to the elbow, but proximal to the thumb.
Cf. distal