Anterior and posterior

Anterior and posterior are terms used to describe the position of body parts. Anterior describes something that is at the front of the body. Posterior indicates that something is at the back of the body.

Example

An example of the use of these terms is that the heart lies anterior to the spine, which means that it is at the front of the body in the chest. The spine lies posterior to the breastbone, because it is at the back of the body.

These designations are also used to indicate the front and back of a single body part. For example the front (anterior side) or back (posterior side) of the shoulder.

These terms are mainly used by (para-)medics, such as doctors and physiotherapists, to communicate more accurately about the location of an injury or problem. As a patient you do not necessarily have to be familiar with these terms, although it can help to understand a medical report better.