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Should Terminologia Anatomica be revised and extended? A critical literature review
Affiliations- Division of Anatomy, Department of Human Morphology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
- Department and Clinic of Vascular, General and Transplantation Surgery, Jan Mikulicz-Radecki Medical University Hospital, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
- Department and Clinic of Gastrointestinal and General Surgery, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
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Abstract
The first edition of the Terminologia Anatomica was published in 1998 by the Federative Committee for Anatomical Terminology, whereas the second edition was issued in 2011 by the Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminologies. Since then many attempts have been made to revise and extend the official terminology as several inconsistencies have been noted. Moreover, numerous crucial terms were either omitted or deliberately excluded from the official terminology, like sulcus popliteus and diaphragma urogenitale, respectively. Furthermore, several synonyms are to be discarded. Notwithstanding the criticism, the use of the current version of terminology is strongly recommended. Although the Terminologia Anatomica is open to future expansion and revision, every change should be made after a thorough discussion of the historical context and scientific legitimacy of a given term. The anatomical nomenclature must be as simple as possible but also precise and coherent. It is generally accepted that hasty innovation ought not to be endorsed. Therefore, there is a need to take a closer look at these new proposals as they have been presented in numerous dispersed papers. This article provides an overview of these issues and concentrates on selected revisions and extensions that are didactically and clinically useful, thereby summarising the salient aspects of these new and compelling proposals.
Abstract
The first edition of the Terminologia Anatomica was published in 1998 by the Federative Committee for Anatomical Terminology, whereas the second edition was issued in 2011 by the Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminologies. Since then many attempts have been made to revise and extend the official terminology as several inconsistencies have been noted. Moreover, numerous crucial terms were either omitted or deliberately excluded from the official terminology, like sulcus popliteus and diaphragma urogenitale, respectively. Furthermore, several synonyms are to be discarded. Notwithstanding the criticism, the use of the current version of terminology is strongly recommended. Although the Terminologia Anatomica is open to future expansion and revision, every change should be made after a thorough discussion of the historical context and scientific legitimacy of a given term. The anatomical nomenclature must be as simple as possible but also precise and coherent. It is generally accepted that hasty innovation ought not to be endorsed. Therefore, there is a need to take a closer look at these new proposals as they have been presented in numerous dispersed papers. This article provides an overview of these issues and concentrates on selected revisions and extensions that are didactically and clinically useful, thereby summarising the salient aspects of these new and compelling proposals.
Keywords
anatomy, teaching, anatomical nomenclature, anatomical terminology, clinical anatomy, gross anatomy, Terminologia Anatomica
About this articleTitle
Should Terminologia Anatomica be revised and extended? A critical literature review
Journal
Issue
Article type
Review article
Pages
1-14
Published online
2019-04-19
Page views
3017
Article views/downloads
1307
DOI
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
Folia Morphol 2020;79(1):1-14.
Keywords
anatomy
teaching
anatomical nomenclature
anatomical terminology
clinical anatomy
gross anatomy
Terminologia Anatomica
Authors
P. P. Chmielewski
B. Strzelec
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