Central

Author: Gordana Sendić, MD • Reviewer: Dimitrios Mytilinaios, MD, PhD
Last reviewed: October 30, 2023
Reading time: 1 minute

Central is a directional term that describes a structure situated at or near the midpoint of another structure. The opposite term of central is peripheral, which pertains to a structure that is away from the center.

The most obvious example is the central nervous system, that passes along the central axis of the body, while the peripheral nervous system passes laterally, away from the central axis of the body.

Terminology	English: Central Latin: Centralis
Examples	Central nervous system, central tendon of diaphragm

Learn more about anatomical terminology in this study unit:

Sources

All content published on Kenhub is reviewed by medical and anatomy experts. The information we provide is grounded on academic literature and peer-reviewed research. Kenhub does not provide medical advice. You can learn more about our content creation and review standards by reading our content quality guidelines.

Moore, K. L., Dalley, A. F., & Agur, A. (2017). Clinically oriented anatomy (8th ed.). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

Central: want to learn more about it?

Our engaging videos, interactive quizzes, in-depth articles and HD atlas are here to get you top results faster.

What do you prefer to learn with?

Videos Quizzes Both

“I would honestly say that Kenhub cut my study time in half.” – Read more.

Kim Bengochea, Regis University, Denver

Central

Sources

Learning anatomy isn't impossible. We're here to help.

Want access to this video?

Want access to this quiz?

Want access to this gallery?

Learning anatomy isn't impossible.
We're here to help.