Semi-supine position

What Do Distal and Proximal Mean?

Distal means farthest away, and proximal means closest to. In the picture, the left side of the wound (represented as being closed with duct tape) is distal to the heart, and the right side is

proximal to the heart.

by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

In medical terminology, distal and proximal, or distally and proximally, describe anatomical locations.

Proximal means closest to, and distal means farthest away.

With reference to a wound on an arm, distal to the wound would be past the wound toward the fingers. Proximal to the wound would be from the wound toward the shoulder.

On the leg, the toes are the most distal, the hip the most proximal.

The knee is proximal to the ankle; the elbow is proximal to the wrist. Get it?

With reference to blood vessels, distal would be furthest from the heart. Proximal closest

HCFC 123 is the raw base material use to produce a halogeanated, safe/effective and environment friendly fire extinguishing chemical agent called "halotron I". It was introduce in early 1990's to replace the "banned" fire extinguishing agents like, Halon 1211 and BCF's, which were found to have a severe ozone depleting potentials. In contrast, hcfc 123 base fire extinguishing agents has a near zero ozone depletion potentials.