Mittekontuur

Mittekontuur is a Dutch term that translates to midline contour and refers to the contour or outline that marks the central axis of an object or structure. It denotes the line along which symmetry is evaluated, separating left from right; in many contexts it aligns with the sagittal plane or median axis of the feature being described. The term is primarily used in professional fields such as anatomy, dentistry, radiology, and cartography, rather than in everyday language.

In medicine and anatomy, mittekontuur describes the visible or measurable midline of a structure, for instance the midline of the face, skull, or brain. Deviation from the midline can indicate asymmetry, injury or pathology, as in midline shift in brain imaging following trauma or stroke. In dentistry and orthodontics, the dental midline refers to the alignment between the upper and lower central incisors and is used to assess occlusion and cosmetic symmetry.

In geography and surveying, midline contours may be used to represent central axes of terrains or features on maps, whereas in design and illustration, the term can denote the central contour used to establish symmetry.

References to mittekontuur are usually field-specific, and the term may be replaced by more common equivalents such as midline or symmetry line in everyday language. Further reading includes anatomy texts on midline anatomy, orthodontic resources on dental midlines, and radiology guidelines on midline shift.