Hypertext Webster Gateway: "ventral"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ventral \Ven"tral\, a. [L. ventralis, fr. venter the belly;
perhaps akin to G. wanst: cf. F. ventral.]
1. (Anat.) Of, pertaining to, or situated near, the belly, or
ventral side, of an animal or of one of its parts; hemal;
abdominal; as, the ventral fin of a fish; the ventral root
of a spinal nerve; -- opposed to {dorsal}.
2. (Bot.)
(a) Of or pertaining to that surface of a carpel, petal,
etc., which faces toward the center of a flower.
(b) Of or pertaining to the lower side or surface of a
creeping moss or other low flowerless plant. Opposed
to {dorsal}.
{Ventral fins} (Zo["o]l.), the posterior pair of fins of a
fish. They are often situated beneath the belly, but
sometimes beneath the throat.
{Ventral segment}. (Acoustics) See {Loop}, n., 5.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
ventral
adj 1: toward or on or near the belly (front of a primate or lower
surface of a lower animal); "the ventral aspect of the
human body"; "the liver is somewhat ventral in
position"; "ventral (or pelvic) fins correspond to the
hind limbs of a quadruped" [ant: {dorsal}]
2: (biology) nearest to or facing toward the axis of an organ
or organism; "the upper side of a leaf is known as the
adaxial surface" [syn: {adaxial}] [ant: {abaxial}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.