The back of an animal or the back surface of a body part; in anatomy, the opposite side from the front (ventral).
From Latin 'dorsum' (back), possibly related to Indo-European root meaning 'to peel/flay,' since the back was sometimes used for skin/hide. Used unchanged in modern anatomy.
Your dorsum carries some of the most sensitive information about who you are—dorsal fingerprints and back-of-the-hand patterns are unique to every human, yet we rarely think about them.
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