A plea for an extension of the anatomical nomenclature: The locomotor system

Bosn J Basic Med Sci. 2018 May 20;18(2):117-125. doi: 10.17305/bjbms.2017.2276.

Abstract

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.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Anatomy / standards*
  • Bone and Bones / anatomy & histology*
  • Humans
  • Joints / anatomy & histology*
  • Movement
  • Muscles / anatomy & histology*
  • Spine / anatomy & histology
  • Terminology as Topic*