posteriorlateral

Posteriorlateral, usually written as posterolateral, is an anatomical directional term used to indicate a location that is both posterior (toward the back) and lateral (toward the outer side) relative to a reference point. It functions as a spatial descriptor in anatomy, surgery, and radiology, and is best understood in relation to terms such as anterior, medial, and superior. In some contexts, the unhyphenated form posteriorlateral appears, but posterolateral with a hyphen is more common in formal anatomical writing.

In practice, posterolateral describes the outer-back aspect of a structure. For example, the posterolateral knee region includes the posterolateral corner, an area important in knee stability and in injuries that may require surgical repair. In imaging or fracture descriptions, a posterolateral fracture denotes a break affecting the posterior-lateral portion of a bone. In neuroanatomy or spine contexts, the posterolateral location can refer to structures situated behind and to the side of the midline at a given level.

Spelling varies: most sources hyphenate as posterolateral; some omit the hyphen or combine as a single word, posterolateral, especially in digital or shorthand usage. The term derives from Latin posterus (back, rear) and latus (side).

See also: anterolateral, posterolateral corner, posterior, lateral.