PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to describe the origin of the Latin anatomical term vasa vasorum and its role in current medical research and to present examples of grammatical errors in its use. METHODS: Literary searches oriented on the term vasa vasorum were used to identify publications using it in the medical literature from the seventeenth century up to the present. RESULTS: The Latin term vasa vasorum was introduced by Ludwig in 1739. The vasa vasorum became an important topic in clinical research around the middle of the twentieth century, with implications in angiology, cardiology and cardiosurgery. We report 18 grammatical errors concerning the use of the term vasa vasorum, starting from the year 1959. A similar decline in the correct use of Latin terminology is also evident in other medical research disciplines. CONCLUSIONS: The numerous errors found in the use of Latin terminology in recent medical literature have occurred as a consequence of decreased use of Latin in the medical community. The only way to improve this situation is by improving awareness of international standard anatomical terminology, which is available worldwide in both Latin and English.

• Keywords
• Anatomy, Development of the term, Recent incorrect use of the term, Terminology, Vasa vasorum,
• MeSH
• Anatomy history   MeSH
• History, 18th Century MeSH
• History, 20th Century MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Terminology as Topic * MeSH
• Vasa Vasorum anatomy & histology   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• History, 18th Century MeSH
• History, 20th Century MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Historical Article MeSH
• Review MeSH

Anatomical nomenclature is the main tool of communication in morphology, anatomy and other medical disciplines as well as in medical education, and thus needs to be exact, flawless, elaborate and correct. The Terminologia Anatomica (TA) is a thorough and extensive list of anatomical terms and their definitions, and the current standard for human anatomical terminology. Although several revisions to the TA have been made in the last 20 years, some important anatomical structures are still not included. This article is aimed at correcting and extending the anatomical nomenclature described in the TA. We gathered and presented a list of anatomical terms, with their definitions and explanations, to provoke a discussion about correcting and extending the TA. Our list comprises of 96 terms related to the locomotor system of the human body, i.e., the bones, joints, muscles and related structures.

• MeSH
• Anatomy standards   MeSH
• Joints anatomy & histology   MeSH
• Bone and Bones anatomy & histology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Spine anatomy & histology   MeSH
• Movement MeSH
• Muscles anatomy & histology   MeSH
• Terminology as Topic * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH

PURPOSE: The aim of this article is to extend and revise the sections of Terminologia Anatomica (TA) dealing with the lower limb structures and to justify the use of newly proposed anatomical terms in clinical medicine, education, and research. METHODS: Anatomical terms were gathered during our educational experience from anatomical textbooks and journals and compared with the four previous editions of the official Latin anatomical nomenclature. RESULTS: The authors summarise 270 terms with their definitions and explanations for both constant and variable morphological structures (bones, joints, muscles, vessels, nerves and superficial structures) of the hip, thigh, knee, leg, ankle, and foot completed with several grammatical remarks and some general anatomical terms. CONCLUSION: The proposed terms should be discussed in wider anatomical community and potentially added to next edition of the TA.

• Keywords
• Anatomical nomenclature, Anatomical terminology, Lower limb, Terminologia Anatomica, Variation,
• MeSH
• Lower Extremity anatomy & histology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Terminology as Topic * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

PURPOSE: The aim of this literary search was to chart the etymology of 32 selected human skeletal muscles, representative of all body regions. METHODS: In researching this study, analysis of 15 influential Latin and German anatomical textbooks, dating from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, was undertaken, as well as reference to four versions of the official Latin anatomical terminologies. Particular emphasis has been placed on the historical development of muscular nomenclature, and the subsequent division of these data into groups, defined by similarities in the evolution of their names into the modern form. RESULTS: The first group represents examples of muscles whose names have not changed since their introduction by Vesalius (1543). The second group comprises muscles which earned their definitive names during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. The third group is defined by acceptance into common anatomical vernacular by the late nineteenth century, including those outlined in the first official Latin terminology (B.N.A.) of 1895. The final group is reserved for six extra-ocular muscles with a particularly poetic history, favoured and popularised by the anatomical giants of late Renaissance and 1,700 s. CONCLUSIONS: As this study will demonstrate, it is evident that up until introduction of the B.N.A. there was an extremely liberal approach to naming muscles, deserving great respect in the retrospective terminological studies if complete and relevant results are to be achieved. Without this knowledge of the vernacular of the ages past, modern researchers can find themselves 'reinventing the wheel' in looking for their answers.

• MeSH
• Anatomy history   MeSH
• History, 16th Century MeSH
• History, 17th Century MeSH
• History, 18th Century MeSH
• History, 19th Century MeSH
• Muscle, Skeletal * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Terminology as Topic * MeSH
• Check Tag
• History, 16th Century MeSH
• History, 17th Century MeSH
• History, 18th Century MeSH
• History, 19th Century MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Historical Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH

This article presents a detailed chronology regarding the development of terminology relating to the calcaneal tendon, from ancient times to modern day nomenclature. The notable contributions of Flemish anatomist Philip Verheyen, French surgeon Jean-Louis Petit, German anatomist and surgeon Lorenz Heister, along with the actual origin of the famous anatomical eponym "Achilles tendon" are analysed. During the study of the aforementioned authors, it was revealed that the term was first adopted, in its original French form, by J.-L. Petit in 1705 and later in 1717, in its Latin form, by L. Heister.

• MeSH
• Achilles Tendon anatomy & histology   MeSH
• Anatomy history   MeSH
• History, 15th Century MeSH
• History, 16th Century MeSH
• History, 17th Century MeSH
• History, 18th Century MeSH
• History, Ancient MeSH
• History, Medieval MeSH
• Eponyms * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Terminology as Topic MeSH
• Check Tag
• History, 15th Century MeSH
• History, 16th Century MeSH
• History, 17th Century MeSH
• History, 18th Century MeSH
• History, Ancient MeSH
• History, Medieval MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Biography MeSH
• Journal Article MeSH
• Historical Article MeSH
• Portrait MeSH
• Geographicals
• France MeSH
• Germany MeSH

• About
• Verheyen, Philip
• Petit, Jean Louis
• Heister, Lorenz

We present a critical analysis of the monograph of A.S.D. Synnestvedt (1869) “En anatomisk beskrivelse af de paa over- og underestremiteterne forekommende Bursae mucosae”. The analysis was completed using anatomical information from the historically oldest publications dealing with the bursae of the extremities: Albinus (1734) , Monro (1788) , Rosenmüller (1799) . We are of the opinion that Synnestvedt's publication is important, not only historically but also as a source of information for recent medical practitioners. Synnestvedt's monograph has a wealth of literary citations, unambiguous opinions of seasoned anatomists regarding the structure and function of the synovial membrane, and detailed descriptions of dissections he performed on fetal and adult cadavers. The information in this publication may enhance the diagnosis of bursopathies and enthesopathies of the extremities.

• MeSH
• Anatomy history   MeSH
• Bursa, Synovial anatomy & histology   MeSH
• History, 18th Century MeSH
• History, 19th Century MeSH
• Lower Extremity anatomy & histology   MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Upper Extremity anatomy & histology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Terminology as Topic MeSH
• Check Tag
• History, 18th Century MeSH
• History, 19th Century MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Biography MeSH
• Journal Article MeSH
• Historical Article MeSH
• Portrait MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Geographicals
• Norway MeSH

• About
• Synnestvedt, Andreas Svane Dick