ventral
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the venter or belly; abdominal.
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Anatomy, Zoology. situated on or toward the lower, abdominal plane of the body; equivalent to the front, or anterior, in humans.
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Botany, Mycology. of or designating the lower or inner surface of a structure.
adjective
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relating to the front part of the body; towards the belly Compare dorsal
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of, relating to, or situated on the upper or inner side of a plant organ, esp a leaf, that is facing the axis
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ventral
1730–40; < Latin ventrālis, equivalent to vent ( e ) r venter + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
The adjective ventral refers to the area on the body in the lower front, around the stomach area. The ventral fin on a fish is the one on its belly. The ventral area of anything, plant or animal, is its underside. In directional terms, the ventral side is the area forward from (or under) the spinal cord. The word comes from the Latin noun venter, which meant "belly," which lent its meaning to ventrālis, which referred to anything pertaining to the belly area. When a shark is swimming toward you, you see the dorsal fin on its back but not the ventral fin on its belly, which remains unseen beneath the waves.
Vocabulary lists containing ventral
Animals (Zoology) - Middle School
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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Animals (Zoology) - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is called the ventral hippocampus, which is responsible for learning, emotions, fear and memory.
From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2025
“While enrolled trilobite fossils are really common, we don’t have any of the ventral soft tissue preserved,” said Sarah Losso, a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University who specializes in trilobite evolution.
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2023
Adding further clarity, the UCL researchers were able to experimentally make mice behave as if they were full, by activating these ventral hippocampal neurons, leading animals to stop eating even if they were hungry.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 16, 2023
Mr Dixon pioneered the use of artificial mesh to lift prolapsed bowels and a review of the care he gave patients receiving Laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy has already concluded.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2023
Color: Darker throughout except on ventral surface which is lighter.
From The Pocket Gophers (Genus Thomomys) of Utah, Vol. 1 No. 1 Kansas University Publications. by Durrant, Stephen D.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
