is the liver inferior or lateral to the lungs
Do you know the meanings of the words "inferior" and "lateral?"
How do they apply to the relative positions of the lungs and liver?
Yes, I do know the meanings however I am confused because they both mean that they are away from the midline of the body
Inferior is from the head down
lateral is away from the mid
I'm thinking lateral but still not positive can you clear it up for me?
Doesn't lateral also mean side-by-side? Doesn't inferior also mean below?
I think the question is asking if the lungs and liver are next to each other or if the liver is under the lungs.
From Wikipedia:
"It (the liver) is located in the right upper quadrant of the abdominal cavity, resting just below the diaphragm."
Is the lung above or below the diaphram?
The question states
the lung is ______ to the liver
I think it is inferior
Your original post asked about the position of the liver relative to the lungs. Apparently the question asked for the position of the lungs with respect to the liver. You have to figure out which one is on top before answering.
Look at the illustration of the diaphram
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoracic_diaphragm
before you decide on the answer, not forgetting that the liver is below the diaphram.
so if the liver is below the diaphram and the lungs are above the diaphram isn't it inferior. Am I looking at this incorrectly?
Yes. The liver is inferior to the lungs.
"the lung is ______ to the liver."
Notice that in the question the subject is the lung. So if you fill in the blank, inferior is not correct.