Common usage of cardiologic anatomical terminology: critical analysis and a trilingual discussion proposal

Abstract

Objective: To design and produce a multilingual terminological dictionary (Latim-English-PortugueseSpanish) containing a list of English anatomicomedical terms in common usage in cardiology subspecialties addressed to medical students and professionals, to other allied health sciences professionals, and to translators working in this specific field.Methods: Terms, semantical and grammatical components were selected to compose an anatomicocardiological corpus. The adequacy to the thematic terminological research requests and the translation reliability level will be settled from the terminology specificity in contrast to the semantics, as well as from a peer survey of the main terms used by national and international experts in specialized journals, Internet sites, and from text-books on Anatomy and Cardiology. The inclusion criteria will be the terms included in the English, Portuguese, and Spanish Terminologia Anatomica -the official terminology of the anatomical sciences; nonofficial technical commonly used terms which lead to terminology or translation misunderstanding often being a source of confusion.Results: A table with a sample of the 508 most used anatomical cardiologic terms in English language peerreviewed journals of cardiology and (pediatric and adult) thoracic surgery is shown.Conclusions: The working up of a multilingual terminological dictionary reduces the risk of ambiguities, inconsistencies, inutilities, and repetitions concerning the Nomenclature addressed to the Allied Health Sciences by prioritizing the inclusion of official technical terms and a judicious selection of commonly used terms. Efforts to standardize lists of structures in Humana Anatomy lead to both opportunities of scientific update and conceptual enlightenment. Uso comum da terminologia anatômica cardiológica: análise crítica e proposta de discussão trilingue 290 WERNECK, AL ET AL -Common usage of cardiologic anatomical terminology: critical analysis and a trilingual discussion proposal Bras Cir Cardiovasc 2009; 24(3): 289-296 Descriptors Rev

Reflections engendered as a practicing translator concerning the language of Anatomy

“…Physicians must be aware of the new Terminologia Anatomica, which is the joint creation of the Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FCAT). They all must learn the correct nomenclature that enables precise communication among practitioners worldwide, as well as among scholars in basic and applied health sciences [14].…”