Dor"sal (?), a. [F. dorsal, LL. dorsalis, fr. L. dorsualis, fr. dorsum back; cf. Gr. , , mountain ridge. Cf. Dorse, Dorsel, Dosel.]
1. Anat. Pertaining to, or situated near, the back, or dorsum, of an animal or of one of its parts; notal; tergal; neural; as, the dorsal fin of a fish; the dorsal artery of the tongue; -- opposed to ventral.
2. Bot. (a) Pertaining to the surface naturally inferior, as of a leaf. (b) Pertaining to the surface naturally superior, as of a creeping hepatic moss.
Dorsal vessel Zool., a central pulsating blood vessel along the back of insects, acting as a heart.
© Webster 1913.
Dor"sal, n. [LL. dorsale, neut. fr. dorsalis. See Dorsal, a.] Fine Arts A hanging, usually of rich stuff, at the back of a throne, or of an altar, or in any similar position.
© Webster 1913. | 
