distal

American  

[dis-tl] / ˈdɪs tl /

adjective

1. situated away from the point of origin or attachment, as of a limb or bone; terminal.

2. Dentistry. directed away from the sagittal plane or midline of the face, along the dental arch.

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distal British  

/ ˈdɪstəl /

adjective

1. anatomy (of a muscle, bone, limb, etc) situated farthest from the centre, median line, or point of attachment or origin Compare proximal

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Other Word Forms

• distally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of distal

First recorded in 1800–10; dist(ant) + -al ¹

Compare meaning

How does distal compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• mesial vs. distal

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

distal

They wanted to know if the distal apical dendrites processed visual stimuli differently from their cell bodies when the signals both matched and violated expected patterns.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 21, 2023

Mare Kimberley Dream was euthanized after sustaining a distal sesamodean ligament rupture to her front leg during Saturday’s first race.

From Washington Times ● May 28, 2023

Boston manager Alex Cora announced the injury before Monday night’s game at Tampa Bay, saying the center fielder has a distal left wrist fracture.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 10, 2023

"Your hair grows out at the root end to the distal end," Labay explained.

From Salon ● Mar. 5, 2023

Sometimes, they even bite off the distal halves of each other’s antennae, to eliminate the temptation.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas