distal
adj.adj. situated away from the center of the body or from the point where a limb attaches. You use this to describe parts of the body that are further out, like your fingers compared to your shoulder.
adj. situated away from the point of attachment or origin, or a central point of the body. Often used in anatomical contexts to describe the position of limbs or structures relative to the torso.
The wrist is distal to the elbow.
The surgeon made a small incision at the distal end of the femur to repair the ligament.
In evolutionary biology, researchers examine how distal structures like fins or wings adapted to specific environmental pressures while the proximal skeletal framework remained relatively conserved across different species.
From distant + -al.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Typically used in technical or medical contexts; often contrasted with 'proximal'.
Last updated May 7, 2026