Caudal

"Caudal" is an anatomical term derived from the Latin word "cauda", meaning tail. In neuroscience and neuroanatomy, the term "caudal" is used to denote a direction towards the back or bottom of the brain or spinal cord.

In relation to the brain and spinal cord of humans and other bipedal organisms, "caudal" refers to a direction towards the bottom of the head or towards the bottom of the spinal cord. This term is often used in place of "posterior" when referring to the brainstem and spinal cord, as the bend in the neural axis in these organisms can lead to ambiguity when using terms like anterior/posterior.

For instance, the caudal pons is the portion of the pons (part of the brainstem) that is closer to the spinal cord, whereas the rostral pons is closer to the forebrain.

In four-legged animals with a horizontal body and brain orientation, "caudal" typically indicates a direction towards the animal's tail, effectively synonymous with "posterior".