By the mid-1900s scientific progress made it necessary that a set of anatomical terms be agreed on to be used consistently across the world. German anatomists initiated these efforts in 1887 and they were soon joined by British, Italian and American anatomists. French anatomists, led by Testut, refused to participate in this collective endeavor.1,2 The end result of this massive work was the Nomina Anatomica which was first published in 1895 and had its last edition in 1983.3 The basic tenets of the Nomina Anatomica were these: one name for each anatomical structure, the correct use of Latin in the designations, and the elimination of eponyms.4 The Terminologia Anatomica, sanctioned by an international body of anatomists and published in 1998, comprises 7635 anatomical terms presented in a hierarchical structure and coding scheme. Each item has a unique alphanumeric code and is presented in both Latin and English.5,6 The Latin list of terms, which are similar to the Nomina Anatomica, was recommended for subsequent translations into the individual national languages. Nowadays, most authorities support this standard terminology and most anatomy textbooks use it as a guide and reference.

Perhaps, because of the vast influence that French medicine had in Latin America, tied with the slow turnover of expensive anatomy textbooks and the need to use anonymous, cheaper lecture notes that in some of the countries are handed down across student generations, the old French nomenclature remains in wide use in Latin America. Indeed, in the pre-seminar examinations that we took in 7 Latin American countries both terminologies had to be used. Also, in our seminars, had we used the Spanish translation of the Terminologia Anatomica, most participants would have considered that the anatomy we taught was new! With these concerns in mind we compiled lists of anatomical terms in the old French terminology translated into Spanish, and Terminologia Anatomica translated into English, Spanish and Portuguese and in its original Latin version (Table 1). This listing is of course incomplete as it only includes the names of the structures that are discussed in the seminar. We fully agree with the suggestion of Professor Maria-Cristina Manzanares-Céspedes that a complete on-line listing of the Terminologia Anatomica should be made available to all interested parties.7 We further suggest that such listing should be free of charge, perhaps through the support of an international foundation or the World Health Organization. Meanwhile, partial listings such as ours, targeted to specific audiences, should be of help. Additionally, in Table 2 the usual names for anatomical regions are listed in Spanish, English and Portuguese.

Needless to say, at the level of practicing rheumatologists and trainees there is a language gap in Latin America that should be addressed. The responsibility falls, first of all in the departments of anatomy. Anatomy teachers should move fast and strong – as we know they are doing – into steering anatomical terminology into the right tract. Nowadays, Latin American medical graduates may experience difficulties in reading international orthopedic, hand surgery, physiatry, neurology and rheumatology journals simply because they see names they have never seen before. It is incumbent on us, teachers of rheumatology, to see that this appalling gap is corrected, i.e. by looking at the old French terminology list in Table 1, learning the correct terms where there are differences, and teaching them right.