|
Medical Definition of Axial section
1. A cross section obtained by slicing, actually or through imaging techniques, the body or any part of the body structure, in a horizontal plane, i.e., a plane which intersects the longitudinal axis at a right angle. Since actual sectioning in the transverse plane results in an inferior and a superior portion, an anatomical transverse section may be a two-dimensional view of the cut surface on the inferior aspect of the superior portion, or of the superior aspect of the inferior portion. By convention, in medical imaging transverse sections demonstrate the former unless otherwise stated. Synonym: axial section. (05 Mar 2000)