Which statement correctly defines medial and lateral?

• A. Medial toward the midline; lateral away from the midline.
• B. Medial toward the left side; lateral toward the right side.
• C. Medial toward the midline; lateral away from the midline.
• D. Medial away from the midline; lateral toward the midline.

Answer: (C)

Medial and lateral describe position relative to the body's midline. The midline is an imaginary line that runs down the center; medial means toward that line, while lateral means away from it toward the sides. This holds true no matter which way you’re looking at the body. For example, the nose sits closer to the midline, so it’s medial to the cheeks; the ears are farther from the midline, so they’re lateral to the eyes. The statement that expresses both directions correctly is: medial toward the midline; lateral away from the midline. Other options rely on left/right language or flip the directions, which isn’t how these terms are defined.