This meaning is often used in anatomy to describe parts of the body that are farther away from where they start. For example, the fingers are distal to the elbow. It helps to show distance on the body.
The finger tips are at the distal end of the hand.
The distal part of the arm is the wrist.
In plants, distal means the part that is far away from where the stem or root starts. It helps to describe the position of leaves, flowers, or branches.
The distal leaves are smaller than the basal ones.
Flowers grow on the distal branches of the tree.
In language study, distal means words or expressions that describe something far away from the speaker, like 'that' (far from here), instead of 'this' (closer). It can also mean speaking about times far from now.
Distal demonstratives point to far objects.
He used a distal tense to talk about the past.
Dentists use distal to describe the tooth part farthest from the front middle of your mouth. It is important for identifying tooth surfaces when checking or cleaning teeth.
The dentist cleaned the distal surface of the molar.
Decay often occurs on the distal side of teeth.
Psychologists use distal to talk about causes or factors that do not happen right away or close in time but can still affect a person. These are different from immediate causes.
Distal factors affect child development over years.
Economic conditions are a distal influence on health.
