Dorsalen

Dorsalen is a term used in anatomy, biology and medicine to denote the dorsal aspect, or back surface, of an organism or a specific structure. The word comes from Latin dorsalis, meaning “of the back.” In some languages, such as Swedish and Norwegian, dorsalen appears as the definite form meaning “the dorsal side.”

In human anatomy, dorsalen refers to the back side of the body. For example, the dorsal surface of the hand is the back of the hand, and the dorsal aspect of the trunk is the back. In veterinary and zoological contexts, the dorsal side is the upper or backside of an animal. In vertebrates, the dorsal cavity houses the brain and spinal cord, reflecting the dorsal orientation of the central nervous system along the back.

The concept is widely used to describe locations relative to the body’s back in a range of species and structures. Dorsalen can apply to external surfaces (such as skin on the back), internal features (like dorsal fins along the back of fish), and nervous system anatomy (the dorsal nerve cord in chordates). It is typically contrasted with ventral, which denotes the belly or underside.

In clinical practice and medical imaging, dorsalen helps clinicians specify where a lesion, structure, or pathway lies in relation to the back. The term is part of a broader system of directional terminology that includes anterior/posterior and superior/inferior, with dorsal and ventral used to describe orientations along the body’s back-to-front axis.

See also: dorsal, ventral, dorsum, dorsal cavity.