002The Principles of the BNA

As the Commmission on Nomenclature worked to streamline anatomical terminology, they arrived at several principles which help you understand the BNA. According to Dr. Barker, these principles are:
  1. Each part shall have only one name.
  2. Each term shall be in Latin and be philologically correct.
  3. Each term shall be as short and simple as possible.
  4. The terms shall be merely memory signs and need lay no claim to description or to speculative interpretation.
  5. Related terms shall, as far as possible, be similar – e.g., Femur, Rectus femoris, Biceps femoris.
  6. Adjectives, in general, shall be arranged as opposites – e.g., Pectoralis major and Pectoralis minor.
Though the Commission in most part was able to uphold these principles, there are some deviations. Some anatomical structures are still known by two names, and some structures, such as the sternocleidomastiodeus, were not given the shortest and most simple name possible.

Go to previous page Go to next page