ETYM Latin anterior, comp. of ante before.
1. Earlier in time; SYN. prior.
2. (Zoology) Of or near the head end or toward the front plane of the body.
Before in time; in front. In biology, the front of an organism, usually the part that goes forward first when the animal is moving. The anterior end of the nervous system, over the course of evolution, has developed into a brain with associated receptor organs able to detect stimuli including light and chemicals.