vs
QUICK ANSWER
"Lo anterior" is a phrase which is often translated as "the above", and "anterior" is an adjective which is often translated as "previous". Learn more about the difference between "lo anterior" and "anterior" below.
anterior(
ahn
-
teh
-
ryohr
)An adjective is a word that describes a noun (e.g., the big dog).
1. (in time)
a. previous 
Los precios siguieron subiendo en comparación con el mismo periodo el año anterior.Prices continued to increase compared to the same period during the previous year.
2. (in space)
a. front 
Los asientos en la parte anterior del avión son los mejores.The seats in the front part of the plane are the best.
a. previous 
La aplicación no funciona en una versión anterior del sistema operativo.The application won't run on a previous version of the operating system.
c. preceding 
Muchas de estas propiedades ya se analizaron en capítulos anteriores.Many of these properties were already discussed in preceding chapters.