Akademik

A system of anatomic nomenclature, consisting of about 7500 terms, devised and approved by the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) and promulgated in August, 1997, at São Paulo, Brazil.Since its foundation in 1903 the IFAA has held periodic conventions for the standardization of anatomic concepts and terminology. In 1989 the federation elected a 12-member Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FCAT), consisting of experts from 11 countries, to undertake a wholesale revision of the last (sixth) edition of Nomina Anatomica (NA VI). With the election of additional members in 1994, the FCAT had representatives from 16 countries and 5 continents. The committee solicited suggestions from anatomists and others around the world, and from more than 10,000 terms proposed for introduction or retention, they formulated and published a list of those deemed worthy of consideration. During 8 years of deliberations they chose the simplest and most exact terms, preferring those that are descriptive of form or function over semantically opaque ones. Some 10% of formerly accepted terms were rejected or altered because they were considered inaccurate, ambiguous, or otherwise unsuitable. About 1000 new terms were introduced, including some for structures not officially named in earlier nomenclatural systems. Many of these terms had already been adopted informally in various countries. Adoption of the new terminology is expected to be widespread. Because English is spoken in many countries and serves as a common language for scientific and medical communication, English equivalents of Latin terms are given in the published version of TA. However, only the Latin terms have official status. The FCAT is currently working on complementary formulations of histologic, cytologic, embryologic, dental, and anthropologic terminology.