Variant anatomy, which is an integral part of anatomical science, is related to abnormalities in the human body structure. Our understanding of variant anatomy is based on thousand years of anatomical experience. These abnormalities generally do not interfere with the function of the human body and do not typically manifest as pathological nosological units. However, under certain conditions, these abnormalities can worsen existing pathological states or even evoke new ones. Understanding variant anatomy is a basic skill not only of mere anatomists, but also of clinicians who work in fields involving both diagnostic techniques and therapeutic interventions. To gain and retain a good knowledge of the most frequent and clinically relevant anatomical variations, a simple, clear, and exactly defined nomenclature of variant structures is needed. A list of items comprising variant anatomy, which have been incorporated into the internationally accepted nomenclatures Terminologia Anatomica (1998) and Terminologia Neuroanatomica (2017), is described and analyzed. Examples of the most common anatomical variations related to terminology are mentioned, and variant anatomy as a whole and its role in understanding current anatomy are discussed.

• Keywords
• anatomical variations, anatomy, nomenclature, terminology, variability,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review 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