Unfortunately, the long-awaited revision of the official anatomical nomenclature, the Terminologia Anatomica 2 (TA2), which was issued in 2019 and after a referendum among the Member Societies officially approved by the General Assembly of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists in 2020, is built on a new version of the Regular Anatomical Terminology (RAT) rules. This breaks with many traditional views of terminology. These changes in the Terminologia Anatomica of 1998 (TA98) met great resistance within many European Anatomical Societies and their members are not willing to use terms following the RAT rules. European anatomy teachers and scientists using traditional Latin in their teaching, textbooks and atlases will keep using the TA98. The German Anatomical Society (Anatomische Gesellschaft) recently announced the usage of the TA2023AG in curricular anatomical media such as textbooks and atlases, based on the TA98 and the Terminologia Neuroanatomica (TNA). We are preparing a more extensive improvement of the TA98, called Terminologia Anatomica Humana (TAH). This project is fully based on the noncontroversial terms of TA98, incorporating the recent digital version (2022) of the TNA from 2017. Further, it is completed with many new terms, including those in TA2, along with their definitions and relevant references, clinical terms, and correcting inconsistencies in the TA98. The TAH is still in process, but many chapters are already freely available at the IFAA Website in Fribourg ( https://ifaa.unifr.ch ) as is the digital version of the TNA.

• Keywords
• Anatomical nomenclature, Anatomical terminology, Terminologia Anatomica, Terminologia Neuroanatomica,
• MeSH
• Anatomy * education   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Neuroanatomy education   MeSH
• Terminology as Topic * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

This article is the fourth and last part of a series aimed at extending and correcting the anatomical nomenclature. Because of the rapid development of internet and the use of electronic formats in communication in anatomy, embryology, histology, medical education, and clinical medicine, an appropriate, precise, and concise anatomical nomenclature is required. Such tool enables to avoid any potential confusion and possible scientific/medical mistakes. The up-to-date official anatomical terminology, Terminologia Anatomica, is available longer than 20 years and needs to be refined and extended. The authors have collected and listed 210 terms and completed them with definitions and/or explanations. We aimed to start a discussion about their potential incorporation into the new revised version of the Terminologia Anatomica. This article is primarily focused on the vessels of the human body (arteries, veins, and lymphatic system).

• MeSH
• Anatomy * MeSH
• Blood Vessels anatomy & histology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Terminology as Topic MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH

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

This article is the third part of a series aimed at correcting and extending the anatomical nomenclature. Communication in clinical medicine as well as in medical education is extensively composed of anatomical, histological, and embryological terms. Thus, to avoid any confusion, it is essential to have a concise, exact, perfect and correct anatomical nomenclature. The Terminologia Anatomica (TA) was published 20 years ago and during this period several revisions have been made. Nevertheless, some important anatomical structures are still not included in the nomenclature. Here we list a collection of 156 defined and explained technical terms related to the anatomical structures of the human body focusing on the digestive, respiratory, urinary and genital systems. These terms are set for discussion to be added into the new version of the TA.

• MeSH
• Anatomy trends   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Human Body * MeSH
• Terminology as Topic * MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal 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

Nomenclature of the general and variant anatomy belongs to the most neglected parts of the Latin anatomical nomenclature in Terminologia Anatomica. Although many important small structures are included in Terminologia Anatomica, when describing and teaching particular anatomy of any part of the human body, the general terms are necessary, such as planes, lines and flexion grooves. Moreover, Terminologia Anatomica contains only 149 terms of variant structures, enlisted in the parentheses to differentiate them from constant ones. They are only a rather representative selection and some more should be added, both from the educational and clinical point of view. The authors present some terms, completed with their definitions or explanations concerning the general and variant anatomy to evoke broader discussion on this topic which should issue in incorporation of proposed terms (or their equivalents) into the Terminologia Anatomica.

• Keywords
• Anatomical nomenclature, Anatomical terminology, Anatomical variations, General anatomy,
• MeSH
• Anatomic Variation * MeSH
• Anatomy standards   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Terminology as Topic * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH