Anatomical terminology dates back more than 2500 years ago and was originally based on Greek and Latin which were common languages at that time. Modern-day anatomical nomenclature is based on that terminology and has led to multiple names for the same structure with different countries and different professions using different names for the same structure which can lead to confusion. To standardize the use of anatomical terminology globally, Terminologia Anatomica is the international standard on human anatomic terminology.
Terminologia Anatomica was originally released in 1988 after being developed by the Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FCAT) and the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA). It superseded the previous standard, Nomina Anatomica (which was published in its 6th edition in 1989). Terminologia Anatomica is now available online from the Federative International Programme on Anatomical Terminologies (FIPAT), the successor of FCAT.
Examples:
A commonly used term in podiatry and anatomy teaching is the ‘fibular notch’, which the Terminologia Anatomica recommends should be called the ‘incisura fibularis tibiae’.
It is common to refer to the muscle as the ‘posterior tibial muscle’ where Terminologia Anatomica recommends it be called ‘M. tibialis posterior’ (Latin) or ‘Tibialis posterior‘ (English).
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