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Human Body Study

Lateral view

The lateral view is the body in anatomical position seen from the side, with the face turned image-right. It makes anterior/posterior vivid — they’re now arrows in the plane of the page — while medial/lateral become the axis that points into and out of the page.

The body in anatomical position, lateral view A schematic of a person in anatomical position seen from the side. Anterior and posterior become arrows in the plane of the page (anterior is the side with the nose), while medial and lateral are marked with circle-cross and circle-dot badges, since they point into and out of the page. Superior–inferior and proximal–distal are also labelled. Lateral view from the side cranial thoracic abdomino- pelvic Superior Inferior Posterior Anterior (toward the face) Proximal Distal Medial Lateral Medial/Lateral point into and out of the page.

What it shows

Section titled “What it shows”
  • Superior / inferior — vertical axis, unchanged from the front view.
  • Anterior / posterior — horizontal arrows; anterior points toward the face.
  • Proximal / distal — along the arm, root to tip.
  • Medial — a ⊗ into the page, toward the midline behind the figure.
  • Lateral — a ⊙ out of the page, the body surface facing the viewer.

Body cavities visible

Section titled “Body cavities visible”

The lateral profile makes the boundary between the thoracic cavity and the abdominopelvic cavity easier to see — the diaphragm sits roughly where the silhouette narrows.

Key idea

Section titled “Key idea”

Each view rotates which axis points out of the page. Two of the six directional terms always end up as badges rather than arrows — here, those two are medial and lateral.