Ventral facts for kids

Ventral is a word used in biology to refer to the underside of an animal. Example:

• In invertebrates the nerve cord runs along the ventral side, under the gut.

The opposite word is dorsal, which means the upper side of an animal.

Images for kids

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  Because of differences in the way humans and other animals are structured, different terms are used according to the neuraxis and whether an animal is a vertebrate or invertebrate.

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  Anatomical terms can be combined to be more specific. This is a dorsolateral view of the frog Mantophryne insignis.

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  Terms can be modified with prefixes and suffixes. In this image showing the jellyfish species Chrysaora, the prefix 'ab-', is used to indicate something that is 'away from' the mouth, for example the aboral. Other terms are combined to indicate axes, such as proximodistal axis.

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  Organisms where the ends of the long axis are distinct. (Paramecium caudatum, above, and Stentor roeselii, below.)

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  Anatomical terms used to describe a human hand

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  Four individuals of Phaeodactylum tricornutum, a diatom with a fixed elongated shape.

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  A cluster of Euplectella aspergillum sponges (Venus flower baskets), showing the apical-basal axes.

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  Anatomical axes and directions in a fish

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  Spheroid or near-spheroid organs may be measured by "long" and "short" axis.

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  Anatomical terms of location in a dog

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  Anatomical terms of location in a fish.

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  Anatomical terms of location in a horse.

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  Aurelia aurita, another species of jellyfish, showing multiple radial and medio-peripheral axes

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  The sea star Porania pulvillus, aboral and oral surfaces

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  Aspects of spider anatomy; This aspect shows the mainly prolateral surface of the anterior femora, plus the typical horizontal eye pattern of the Sparassidae

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  Typical arrangement of eyes in the Lycosidae, with PME being the largest

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  In the Salticidae the AME are the largest