adverb
- in a direction or manner relating to or extending between the dorsal (back) and ventral (belly) surfaces of an organism
Usage: biology; anatomy
Examples
- The fish's body is flattened dorsoventrally, making it well-suited for life on the ocean floor.
- In dorsal-ventral axis development, cells differentiate dorsoventrally to form distinct tissue layers.
- The pancreas extends dorsoventrally across the abdominal cavity.
- Rays are dorsoventrally compressed, unlike the laterally compressed bodies of most fish.
- The embryo's dorsal and ventral regions are established through dorsoventrally oriented cell signaling.