Bilateral Symmetry

An organism possesses a bilateral symmetry if it can only be cut into two identical halves by a single longitudinal cut along its center which divides it into right and left halves.^[1]

Human beings are almost, but not quite, bilaterally symmetric. From the outside it appears as if our left and right sides are mirror images of each other but there are asymmetries in some of the internal organs; for example, there is only one appendix, on the right side; the heart and the big blood vessels emerging from it are asymmetrical. This is also relevant for the liver, gall bladder, and pancreas.

See also[edit]

• Radial symmetry
• Spherical symmetry

References[edit]

1. ↑ Wile, Dr. Jay L. Exploring Creation With Biology. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1998