Shuttle pod - Dorsal entrance

[Crewman47]

Never thought of it until now but why do you suppose the Shuttle pods of Enterprise had a Dorsal access point and was 99% of the time used to enter the Shuttle when it also had side doors and would made more sense to use all the time to enter the shuttle, and probably a little bit safer as one slip on the ladder on the top and you've got yourself a nasty bruise or worse, a broken bone?

Any thoughts?

 

[Trekwatcher]

Didn't they use the dorsal port when docking with other ships in space?

 

[Middleman]

Depending on the episode and purpose, they used both.