1.8 : Anatomical Terminology

Knowledge of anatomy is essential to understand human biology and medicine. Anatomists and health care professionals use standard terminology to describe the human body with more precision and no ambiguity. Anatomical terms have mostly Greek and Latin-derived roots. Because these languages are rarely used in conversation, the meaning of words remains the same. Each term is made up of a root in between the prefixes and suffixes. The root of a term often refers to an organ, tissue, or condition, whereas the prefix or suffix often describes the root. For example, in the disorder hypertension, the prefix "hyper-" means "high" or "over" and the root word "tension" refers to pressure, so the word "hypertension" refers to abnormally high blood pressure.

Anatomists standardize how they view the body. The standard anatomical reference position is standing upright with parallel feet, shoulders wide, and toes forward. The upper limbs are held to each side, and the palms of the hands face ahead. Following the standard anatomical reference position to locate or refer to the body part minimizes confusion, especially during routine examinations and procedures. For example, a scar on the carpal is on the palm side of the wrist. When concerning orientation, the body lying down is described as either prone (face down) or supine (a face-up) orientation.

In addition, human body regions have specific terms to indicate the location, number or color of a particular structure, organ or tissue. For instance, the term "brachium" refers to the "upper arm," and "antebrachium" or "forearm" is used rather than "lower arm." Terms become essential while describing the relative locations of different body structures. For instance, superior and inferior terms are often used to describe the position of the head with respect to the lower part of the body.

Brief history

Terminologia Anatomica (TA) is the international standard on human anatomical terminology used worldwide. The Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology and the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists developed and released it in 1998. It replaced the previous standard Nomina Anatomica. Terminologia Histologica (TH) is a companion text to TA developed by the renamed Federative International Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FICAT) that was published in 2008. TA contains terminology for about 7500 human gross (macroscopic) anatomical structures, while TH contains terminology for cellular structures, tissue and organs at the microscopic level.

This text is adapted from Openstax, Anatomy and Physiology 2e, Section 1.6: Anatomical Terminologies.