medial

views updated Jun 11 2018

me·di·al / ˈmēdēəl/ • adj. technical situated in the middle, in particular: ∎  Anat. & Zool. situated near the median plane of the body or the midline of an organ.The opposite of lateral. ∎  Phonet. (of a speech sound) in the middle of a word. ∎  Phonet. (esp. of a vowel) pronounced in the middle of the mouth; central.DERIVATIVES: me·di·al·ly adv.

medial

views updated May 29 2018

medial † (math.) mean XVI; that is in the middle; ordinary. XVIII. — late L. mediālis, f. medius MID; see -AL1.
So median (first in anat.) m. vein XVI; (gen.) middle XVII. — F. médian or L. mediānus; cf. MEAN3.

medial

views updated May 23 2018

medial (mee-di-ăl) adj.
1. relating to or denoting parts of the body that are closest to the median plane of the body.

2. relating to or situated in the central region of an organ, tissue, or the body.