Anatomical Science International最新文献

In the domain of anatomy, some Chinese characters in anatomical terms possess distinctive morphological significance. Chinese characters evolved from pictographic characters, with some of these pictographs being created by ancient people based on their own body structure. This implies that the comprehension and depiction of the human body structure have been integral since the inception of Chinese characters, and this knowledge has been passed down and developed through the continued inheritance of Chinese characters. Even today, certain characters retain the appearance to reflect the shape of the human body structure. By examining the characters related to vertebrae, cranial fontanel and heart, we can find the unique and enduring link between Chinese characters and the fields of anatomy as well as Chinese traditional medicine.

The spinal accessory nerve, considered part of the eleventh cranial nerve, provides motor innervation to sternocleidomastoid and trapezius. A comprehensive literature review and two cadaveric dissections were undertaken. The spinal accessory nerve originates from the spinal accessory nucleus. Its rootlets unite and ascend between the denticulate ligament and dorsal spinal rootlets. Thereafter, it can anastomose with spinal roots, such as the McKenzie branch, and/or cranial roots. The spinal accessory nerve courses intracranially via foramen magnum and exits via jugular foramen, within which it usually lies anteriorly. Extracranially, it usually crosses anterior to the internal jugular vein and lies lateral to internal jugular vein deep to posterior belly of digastric. The spinal accessory nerve innervates sternocleidomastoid, receives numerous contributions in the posterior triangle and terminates within trapezius. Its posterior triangle course approximates a perpendicular bisection of the mastoid-mandibular angle line. The spinal accessory nerve contains sensory nociceptive fibres. Its cranial nerve classification is debated due to occasional non-fusion with the cranial root. Surgeons should familiarize themselves with the variable course of the spinal accessory nerve to minimize risk of injury. Patients with spinal accessory nerve injuries might require specialist pain management.

Histological terminology of the female genital organs is currently a part of the internationally accepted nomenclature Terminologia Histologica (TH), the latest edition of which dates back to 2008. Many new discoveries have been documented within 16 years since then, and many discrepancies have been found. This paper aims to revise the terminology from clinical and educational perspectives comprehensively. The authors thoroughly searched the current edition of “Terminologia Histologica: International Terms for Human Cytology and Histology,” focusing on missing and controversial terms in the chapter Female genital system. The authors identified six controversial and ambiguous terms and four missing important histological terms. The authors also discussed the addition of less used eponymic terms in the histological description of female genital organs like Hamperl cells, Popescu cells, Kroemer lacunae, Balbiani bodies, Call–Exner bodies, membrane of Slavianski, nabothian cysts, or anogenital sweat glands of van der Putte. We expect the second and revised edition of the TH to be published soon and hope that the Federative International Program on Anatomical Terminology will approve and incorporate all these propositions and suggestions. We also strongly recommend using the official internationally accepted Latin and English histological nomenclature—the TH, either in oral or written form, both in theoretical and clinical medicine.

The development of a standard anatomical language in Spanish dates back to the early stages of medicine, and its significance lies in the necessity for a common vocabulary to describe the structures of the human body. Anatomists and morphologists have been striving to achieve this goal since the late nineteenth century when the first Anatomical Nomenclature was created in Basel in 1895. Over the years, various versions of the International Anatomical Terminology have been published in Spanish, following the guidelines of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA). These versions have been produced in partnership with the Spanish Anatomical Society and have aimed to adjust the terms to the Spanish language and linguistic rules. The Ibero-Latin American Symposia on Anatomical, Histological, and Embryological Terminology (SILAT) have embraced the naming of morphological structures, keeping in mind the Latin and Greek roots, while respecting the translations accepted by the linguistic rules of the official languages. These symposia stick to the principles of universality, precision in structure description, and consistency in terminology. Despite more than a century of progress in anatomical terminology, there is a need for frequent revisions and adjustments to anatomical terms, particularly when translating them into various languages and because of the high number of international publications related to anatomy. A shared anatomical language is essential for the study and application of anatomy across various medical practices and in undergraduate education. Finally, the establishment of anatomical terminology in Spanish represents a long history of efforts to create a universal and precise language in this field. Despite advancements, the revision and adaptation of anatomical terms remain a continuous challenge to keep up with scientific progress and ensure effective communication in the field of anatomy.

This paper focuses on the authors perspectives of the terminology developed by the Gross and Clinical Anatomy Working Group for Terminologica Anatomica2. Terminologica Anatomica2 represents a great deal of work by the Gross and Clinical Anatomy Working Group of the Federative International Program for Anatomical Terminology. Listing of synonyms and eponyms can be of great utility in terms of historical translation. However, the initial goal of achieving an international standard for anatomical terminology derived through a scholarly, consensus based process has been lost in Terminologica Anatomica2 as it provides a variety of choices that can be used to name a particular structure, in contrast to Terminologica Anatomica1 where preferred terminology is explicitly stated.

Because experimental studies to determine the developmental toxicity of exposure to various substances in children are impossible, many studies use immature male rats. This study aimed to provide normative data for longitudinal bone growth with age during the puberty in male rats. In order to evaluate long bone growth and mineralization we examined bone size and bone density by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, analyzed histomorphometry of the growth plate, and serum hormone levels relevant to bone growth from postnatal day (PD)20 to PD60. The length and weight of long bones increased strongly by PD40, and no further increase was observed after PD50. On the other hand, tibial growth plate height decreased sharply after PD50 along with a reduction in the number of cells and columns, which was probably responsible for the absence of further lengthening of long bones. Parameters related to bone formation such as bone area ratio, and the thickness and number of trabeculae, also increased significantly between PD40 and PD50. Furthermore, serum levels of IGF-1 peaked at PD30 and testosterone increased rapidly on and after PD40, when IGF-1 levels were going down. These changes may participate in the parallel increase in mineral acquisition, as well as lengthening of long bones. Our findings provide comprehensive data for changes in bone density, histomorphometry of long bones, and hormone levels relevant to bone growth during the growth spurt. This will be useful for planning animal toxicological studies, particularly for deciding on the appropriate age of animals to use in given experiments.

Relatively more-apparent body parts are often used to name relatively less-apparent body parts. To explore this etymological phenomenon, this report assesses anatomical terminology derived from some of the most apparent structures of the human body—hairs. Hair-related anatomical terminology involves varied etymons, roots, and derivatives: calvus “bald,” cilia “eyelashes,” glaber “hairless,” pilus “hair,” pubes (historically referring to the developing beard), pudendum “modesty” (referring to hair growth that covers genitalia), tempus “time” (referring to the location where hair commonly grays, thus showing a person’s age), and tragus “goat” (referring to the tuft of hair that resembles the beard of a goat). Also including lanugo, vibrissae, hirci, flocculus, and cauda equina, a systematic review of Terminologia Anatomica and Terminologia Neuroanatomica revealed 285 unique non-duplicate hair-related terms. Several anatomical terms allude to particular age groups or sexes, but are used indiscriminately (e.g., tragus alludes to the older male ear, though may describe the fetal female ear). Likewise, human-centric anatomical terminology influences non-human anatomical terminology— a turtle has a “temporal bone” only because some humans develop gray hair on the sides of their heads as they age. Accordingly, etymological recursion is common: The human ear has a tragus, named after the goat, and the goat ear has a tragus, named after the human tragus, that was named after the goat. The use of Latin as the foundation of anatomical and medical terminology may appear seriously supercilious; however, it is often simply super silly. After all, hundreds of body parts are formally named after hair.

The oldest extant anatomy textbooks compiled in ancient Rome were by Galen who described in writing most of the various parts and organs of the body. History tells us that ever since the time of Galen, anatomical terminology would be a necessary and beneficial feature, but it also brought unexpected and annoying consequences into the field. The benefits are readily apparent in the case of muscle terminology. Galen identified more than 150 different kinds of skeletal muscles, most of which were unnamed, hence difficult to identify without professional knowledge of anatomy. Vesalius introduced detailed anatomical illustrations in Fabrica (1543), which made the identification of the muscles easier. Bauhin then introduced proper descriptive names for the muscles in Theatrum anatomicum (1605), which enabled the identification of the muscles without illustrations. After the terminology became complex and diverse, a logically consistent standard nomenclature was established by Nomina anatomica (1895). The unexpected consequences may be found in the terminology of bones and joints. Galen gave 39 proper names for individual bones, and classified and termed the types of bony joints. Many of these terms have survived in modern anatomy as literal translations of the bone terms, as well as the joint terms. The annoying consequences may be found in the terminology of intestines. Galen divided the small and large intestines into three portions, such that the major part of the small intestine suspended by the mesentery was divided into two without sufficient reason. The Latin translations of jejunum and ileum were, respectively assigned to them by Mondino in his Anatomia written in 1316.

As the title indicates, this article deals with the origins of anatomic terminology and its development up to the present day. The first attempt to name anatomical structures in animals and humans date back to Alkmaion, i.e. to the fifth century BC. Further work has been done at the same time by the Hippocratics and about 100 years later by Aristotle. As the Alexandrians Erasistratos and Herophilos first in history dissected human bodies, they expanded the anatomical terms. Until Celsus (around Christ’s birth) and even later on, anatomical terminology was almost exclusively based on the Greek language. Thus, Celsus and not—as frequently done—Galenos has to be called the father of Latin-based anatomical terminology. Due to several translations including Arabic, first periods of proverbial Bable resulted. Return to systematic order was achieved finally by Andreas Vesal (1514/15–1564) and Caspar Bauhin (1560–1624). But again due to translations into several national languages, the uniformity of the anatomical nomenclature was undermined. Thus, by the end of the nineteenth century, in 1895 the newly founded Anatomische Gesellschaft created a uniform terminology, the Basle Nomina Anatomica (BNA). Although it has been revised several times, it is still the very basic of human anatomical terminology. Recently, an attempt was made to replace it by English translations of the original Latin (and also still Greek) terms to mainly get machine-readable denominations. As this will result again in non-uniformity of terminology, the Anatomische Gesellschaft proposes a version of the latest, generally accepted terminology, based on the Latin terms but incorporating recent developments.

Anatomy was initially developed out of necessity to decrease surgery complications. Over time, anatomists and surgeons have sometimes used different terms for the same anatomical structures, thus resulting in numerous discrepancies in terminology between anatomy and surgery. To avoid any confusion or misunderstanding and to better elucidate the oral anatomy terms, the Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminology (FIPAT) organized a group of specialists on oral anatomy, Terminologia Oroanatomica (ToA) working group, composed of dentists, anatomy researchers, anatomy educators, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, and oral and maxillofacial radiologists. Within the ToA working group, major anatomical structures in the mandible, such as the mandibular canal, were focused and discussed to determine the most appropriate term, i.e., inferior alveolar canal. Although yet to be approved by the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA), this article will preview some changes suggested by the ToA.