International standard on human anatomic terminology
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Nomina Anatomica (NA) was the international standard on human anatomic terminology from 1895 until it was replaced byTerminologia Anatomica in 1998.
In the late nineteenth century some 30,000 terms for various body parts were in use. The same structures were described by different names, depending (among other things) on the anatomist's school and national tradition. Vernacular translations of Latin and Greek, as well as various eponymous terms, were barriers to effective international communication. There was disagreement and confusion among anatomists regarding anatomical terminology.
The first and last entries in the following table are not NA editions, but they are included for the sake of continuity. Although these early editions were authorized by different bodies, they are sometimes considered part of the same series.[1]
Work on a new international system of anatomical terminology began in 1887. The system was approved in 1895 by theNinth Congress of theAnatomische Gesellschaft inBasel (then "Basle"), Switzerland. It became known as the Basle Nomina Anatomica (BNA). The BNA reduced the number of anatomical terms from 50,000 down to 5,528.
TheInternational Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) is the international body representing anatomical societies from throughout the world. TheFirst Federative International Congress of Anatomy met in Geneva in 1903.
BNA revisions
1933–1935
The BNA was adopted by anatomists from many countries including Spain and the United States, but the reception was far from universal.
French anatomists preferred to continue in their own tradition.
British anatomists broke away from the BNA in 1933, adopting theBirmingham Revision (BR).[6]
TheAnatomische Gesellschaft itself produced a revision in 1935, theJena Nomina Anatomica (JNA) (orIenaiensia Nomina Anatomica, INA).[7][8][9] The JNA was notable for its adoption of a pronograde (horizontal) axis, which was well suited for the use of common anatomy for humans and other vertebrates.[10][11]
The BNA and its various revisions (BR, JNA) remained standard international terminology until 1955.
TheFifth Congress (Oxford, 1950) established a committee, theInternational Anatomical Nomenclature Committee (IANC), to work on standardized anatomical terminology. The IANC's revision of the BNA was approved in 1955 at theSixth Congress, meeting inParis. It was originally called theParisiensia Nomina Anatomica (PNA) but later became known simply as theNomina Anatomica (NA).
It contained 5,640 terms, of which 4,286 were unchanged from the BNA.[13]
The committee favored the BNA's orthograde (walking upright) orientation (anatomical position) over the JNA's pronograde (walking with body horizontal to the ground) orientation, which led to a schism between the committee and veterinary anatomists, and the subsequent publication of theNomina Anatomica Veterinaria in 1968.[10]
Approved at theNinth Congress (Leningrad, 1970), theTenth Congress (Tokyo, 1975). The fourth edition introduced the Nomina Histologica and Nomina Embryologica.[17]
Approved at theTwelfth Congress (London, 1985). Contains about 6,400 terms.[21] The title of the sixth edition includes the phrase "authorised by the Twelfth International Congress of Anatomists in London, 1985", but this authorization is disputed.
Around the time of theTwelfth Congress (London, 1985), a dispute arose over theeditorial independence of the IANC. The IANC did not believe that their work should be subject to the approval of IFAA Member Associations.
The types of discussion underlying this dispute are illustrated in an article by Roger Warwick, then Honorary Secretary of the IANC:[23]
An aura of scholasticism, erudition and, unfortunately, pedantry has therefore often impeded attempts to rationalize and simplify anatomical nomenclature, and such obstruction still persists. The preservation of archaic terms such asLien,Ventriculus,Epiplooon andSyndesmologia, in a world which uses and continues to useSplen, Gaster, Omentum andArthrologia (and their numerous derivatives) provides an example of such pedantry.
We have inherited a number of archaic and now somewhat irrational terms which are confusing to the non-Latinistic students and scientists of today ... Knowledge of Latin is extremely limited today, and thus any Latin nomenclature must be simplified to the utmost to achieve maximum clarity, usefulness, and hence acceptance.
Unless anatomical nomenclature is subject to a most rigorous revision, in terms of simplification and rationalization, general use of such an internationally official nomenclature asNomina Anatomica will decline rather than increase.
What declined, however, was the influence of the IANC on anatomical terminology. The IANC published asixth edition ofNomina Anatomica,[24] but it was never approved by the IFAA.
Instead, at theThirteenth Congress (Rio de Janeiro, 1989), the IFAA created a new committee – theFederative Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FCAT).[25] The FCAT took over the task of revising international anatomical terminology. The result was the publication, in 1998,[26] of a "new, updated, simplified and uniform anatomical terminology", theTerminologia Anatomica (TA)[27]. The IANC was acknowledged in this work as follows:
Since the first meeting, the FCAT made several contacts with the IANC aiming at the natural transition from the old approach to the approach established by the General Assembly of the IFAA. Such initiatives, however, did not result in amodus vivendi for harmonious collaboration.[28]
NA and its derivatives are still used in some contexts (even the controversial sixth edition), and there remain some obstacles to universal adoption ofTA:
TheTA is only available in Latin, English, and Spanish, while theNA is available in many additional languages,[30] which has had an impact upon international adoption of TA.
^Sakai, T. (2007). Historical evolution of anatomical terminology from ancient to modern.Anat Sci Int 82:65–81,link.
^Kachlik, D., Baca, V., Bozdechova, I., Cech, P., and Musil, V. (2008). Anatomical terminology and nomenclature: Past, present and highlights.Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy 30:459–466.
^His, Wilhelm.Die anatomische Nomenclatur. Nomina anatomica, Verzeichniss der von der anatomischen Gesellschaft auf ihrer IX. Versammlung in Basel angenommenen Namen. Leipzig, Veit, 1895.link.
^Chauncey Eycleshymer, A.Anatomical names, especially the Basle Nomina Anatomica ("BNA"). New York, William Wood & Company, 1917.link.
^Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland.Final Report of the Committee Appointed by the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland on June 22nd, 1928 "to Consider Proposals to the Society for the Revision of the B.N.A., with the View of Bringing the Matter Before the Next Meeting of an International Congress of Anatomists". Robert Maclehose and Co., Ltd. University Press, Glasgow, 1933.
^Kopsch, F.Die Nomina anatomica des Jahres 1895 (B.N.A.), nach der Buchstabenreihe geordnet und gegenübergestellt den Nomina anatomica des Jahres 1935 (I.N.A.). Leipzig, Thieme, 1937. [2. Aufl., 1938.link.; 3. Aufl., 1941.]
^Segen, J. C. (1992).The dictionary of modern medicine: a sourcebook of currently used medical expressions, jargon, and technical terms. Carnforth, Lancs., U.K: Parthenon Pub. Group. p. 497.ISBN978-1-85070-321-1.
^Greulich, W. W., R. L. Bacon, D. L. Bassett, C. H. Danforth, D. J. Gray, H. Kirkman, and R. S. Turner. 1945. Terms of position and direction in the NK-INA revision of the Basle Nomina Anatomica. The Anatomical Record 92:359–362.
^Woerdeman, M. W.Nomina Anatomica Parisiensia (1955) et B. N. A. (1895). Oosthoek, Utrecht, 1957.
^Gielecki J, Zurada A, Osman N (May 2008). "Terminologia anatomica in the past and the future from perspective of 110th anniversary of Polish Anatomical Terminology".Folia Morphol. (Warsz).67 (2):87–97.PMID18521806.
^International Anatomical Nomenclature Committee; International Federative Congress of Anatomy.Nomina Anatomica. Amsterdam, Excerpta Medica Foundation, 1961.
^International Anatomical Nomenclature Committee.Nomina Anatomica: Approved by the Tenth International Congress of Anatomists at Tokyo, August 1975, Together with Nomina Histologica and Nomina Embryologica By International Anatomical Nomenclature Committee, World Association of Veterinary Anatomists International Committee on Veterinary Anatomical Nomenclature. Amsterdam-Oxford: Excerpta Medica, 1977.ISBN0-444-15259-8.
^International Anatomical Nomenclature Committee.Nomina anatomica, fifth edition: approved by the Eleventh International Congress of Anatomists at Mexico City, 1980: together with Nomina histologica, second edition and Nomina embryologica, second edition. Williams & Wilkins, London, 1983.ISBN0-683-06550-5.
^International Anatomical Nomenclature Committee.Nomina anatomica: authorised by the Twelfth International Congress of Anatomists in London, 1985: together with Nomina histologica, third edition, and Nomina embryologica, third edition: revised and prepared by subcommittees of the International Anatomical Nomenclature Committee. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1989.link.
^abMarecková, E.; Simon. F.; Cervený, L. On the new anatomical nomenclature.Ann Anat. 183(3): 201-207, 2001.
^Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FCAT).Terminologia anatomica. Stuttgart, Georg Thieme Verlag, 1998.link.
^Nomina anatomica: authorised by the Twelfth International Congress of Anatomists in London, 1985: together with Nomina histologica, third edition, and Nomina embryologica, third edition. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. 1989.ISBN978-0-443-04085-6.
^Federative Committee on Anatomical Termi (1998).Terminologia Anatomica: International Anatomical Terminology. Thieme Stuttgart. p. 161.ISBN978-3-13-114361-7.
^Fabry P, Baud R, Burgun A, Lovis C (July 2006). "Amplification of Terminologia anatomica by French language terms using Latin terms matching algorithm: a prototype for other language".Int J Med Inform.75 (7):542–52.doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2005.08.008.PMID16203172.
^Terminologia Histologica: International Terms for Human Cytology and Histology, Book/CD-ROM Bundle. Hagerstwon, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 2008.ISBN978-0-7817-7537-3.
