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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Ventral

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.)

    1. Of or pertaining to that surface of a carpel, petal, etc., which faces toward the center of a flower.

    2. 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.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
ventral

1739, from French ventral or directly from Late Latin ventralis "of or pertaining to the belly or stomach," from Latin venter (genitive ventris) "belly, paunch; stomach, appetite; womb, unborn child," from PIE *wend-tri- (cognates: Latin vesica "bladder," Sanskrit vastih "bladder," Old High German wanast, German wanst "paunch, belly"), perhaps from root *udero- "abdomen, womb, stomach" (see uterus).

Wiktionary
ventral

a. 1 Related to the abdomen or stomach 2 (context anatomy English) On the front side of the human body, or the corresponding surface of an animal, usually the lower surface. 3 An anatomical term referring to the bottom portion of either foot and/or hand. n. Any of the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of a snake's body from the neck to the anal scale.

WordNet
ventral
  1. adj. 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. 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]

Wikipedia

Usage examples of "ventral".

These are thick-bodied sinuous creatures distinguished by the curious conformation of the mouth and by a lateral row of dots that may represent the metameric spiracles or, as commonly, a demarcation between dorsal and ventral surfaces.

Atlee submits quite a remarkable case of congenital ventral gestation, the subject being a girl of six, who recovered after the discharge of the fetal mass from the abdomen.

Both shells had split open down the front, along the line of weakness where the ventral scutes joined.

The woman subsequently enjoyed excellent health and, although she had a small ventral hernia, bore and nursed two children.

From the large number of glands on the ventral surface and round the orifice, it is probable that this species lives in very foul water, from which it absorbs matter, as well as from its captured and decaying prey.

Corellian section of Nar Shaddaa, Han and Chewie had installed a military-grade rectenna, a ventral quad laser cannon, and concussion missile launchers between the mandibles.

Inside the cage were ventral lung sacs, a relatively large heart, and liverlike and kidneylike organs.

That dead-eyed anhedonia is but a rem-ora on the ventral flank of the true predator, the Great White Shark of pain.

It got its name from the two big clawlike waldos at the forward end and the twin rows of smaller specialized limbs down its ventral surface.

Chuckling over the creature's antics, Odis climbed up the boat's ventral fin and over the back to the hatch.

As rear thruster sheaths chevroned to become the Battloid's feet, the ventral fuselage halves split away from each other and spread outward to form the arms.

The Kloob clacked his ventral plates with a rippling noise indicating total lack of approval.

The four handling tentacles, called dorsals and ventrals, served as extra fingers or hands.

Valleroy noted carefully just how much smaller were the moist, pink-gray laterals compared to the strong, dry-skinned dorsals and ventrals.

Each nerve, moreover, is connected both to the ventral horn and the dorsal horn of its side of the H.