Every Organ Tells a Story #3: A History of Anatomical Terms

The current anatomical terminology  has undergone a long and tortuous journey.

In his paper, ‘The strange histories of anatomical terms’ Charles Singer describes how the commonplace English terms such as neck, leg, breast, liver, bladder all come from Indo-European origins with a Teutonic backdrop.

As these were also the same terms used by butchers, the anatomists wanted technical nomenclature that was in lieu with the re-emergence of Greek as the ‘Language of Learning’ in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. They went right to the root source, the language that was employed by Galen (AD c129 - c200).

Galen’s compendium of anatomical descriptions surpasses many who came since. Originally from Pergamon, he studied in Alexandria and then worked as a physician to the Roman Gladiators - gaining experience in treating battle trauma.

He worked in Rome after being summoned by Philosopher- Emperor Marcus Aurelius and was the personal physician to him and his sons Commodus and Sextus. Despite his fluent Latin and working in the very heart of the Roman Empire, Galen preferred to write in his mother tongue, Greek. Coincidentally this was also the language of learning in that era.

Galen never really dissected a human body, but confined his observations to Barbary apes or Rhesus Monkeys whose anatomy were remarkably similar to the humans. He learnt from previous treatises and was a quick learner.

He was a patient observer, assiduous compiler who also wrote treatises in logic, physiology, ethics and many other disciplines. However his physiology followed the ‘four humours’ ( see previous chapter) theory of health and his prescribing also followed the same principle.

With the fall of the Western Empire and the eventual rise of the East, Galen’s works were adopted by the Arabic speaking world, which by now had spread far and wide across Middle East and Europe. This meant that the works were translated into Arabic and Latin and lasted for centuries in this fashion.

When the Western Empire re-emerged, these hand-me down versions of Arabic-Latin anatomical terms were in vogue in the 12^th and 13^th centuries amongst physicians and anatomists.

By Renaissance time there was a re-emergence of Greek learning and the ‘purifiers’ wanted to eradicate the ‘vulgar’ Arabic- Latin versions and go to the original source, the texts of Galen himself.

By the time Vesalius published his great work On the Fabric of human body (1555) The purifiers had almost succeeded in reinstating all Greek terminology.

Thus the terms we use now are mostly of Greek origin, although a few Latin/Arabic terms have survived unscathed because the Renaissance ‘purifiers’ missed them or because they almost sounded Greek!

In our journey along the mysteries of the human body, I will turn your attention to the letter J. The two words that come to my immediate attention are the Jugulum and Jejunum

The Division of the small intestine , between the duodenum and the ileum is called the jejunum. Jejune means barren, empty or dull.

As in this Anthony Trollope quote: "and there pour forth jejune words and useless empty phrases”

The reason this part of the intestine is called jejunum is apparently because after death and during autopsy it is always found empty or barren!

The original latin jejuno actually meant fasting.

Did you know that the original version of ‘When in Rome do as Roman’s do’ ( ie., try and follow local customs) is attributed to St Ambrose, who actually said:

Quando hic sum, non jejuno Sabbato; quando Romae sum, jejuno Sabbato.

(When I'm here [in Milan], I do not fast on Saturday; when I'm in Rome, I fast on Saturday.)

In this time of Twi-Hards and True bloods, the vampire myth is ever popular. We are used to the phrase’ going for the jugular’ and Bram Stoker’s immortal ( literally!)  Vampire Dracula has left his fang marks permanently on the jugular.

The jugular vein is so called simply because the jugulum means the neck. In  ornithological terms jugulum is the lower part of the throat or the front of the neck, between the gula and the pectus. The anatomists have extended the same biological observations for the human neck.

So jugulum is the neck and jugular or jugulo means related to the neck.

I know I am cheating here and putting a ‘c’ word where there should be a ‘K’ but Carotids are spelt with a K sound for a reason. These main arteries in the neck are called after the Greek term karoein that means  ‘put to sleep’ or ‘stupefy’. The original Greek term for torpor or profound sleep was Karosis.

This makes sense for the two carotids form the major blood supply to the Brain and if you apply sufficient pressure to both at the same time, you may faint. In other animals it is easy to put them to sleep by pressing on their carotids continually ( not recommended!) as they rely solely on the carotid supply. Galen called this fainting as ‘apoplexy’. It is less likely in ungulates and humans as we have collateral blood supply to the brain that will help save us. ( I still wouldn’t recommend trying it,  so stop it before you do yourself harm!)

Keratin is the constituent protein found in hair and nails in humans and also in animal horns. This is a fascinating piece of evolution, as animals especially the carnivores, use their claws to dig into the carcasses, the claws and horns must have evolved into very hard tissue protein, one that doesn’t dissolve in the gastric acid.

Keras in Greek means ‘horn’. The scientists who named this knew the same constituent protein builds horns in animals and hair in humans. In fact the name  Triceratops (Tri- (K)Cera ) comes from the same root, meaning triple-horned.

Isn’t it weird that your tongue would allow you to swallow a huge piece of steak but would gag uncontrollably at the presence of a single hair? This is because the gag reflux has been perfected over millions of years to avoid any hair or nails to go into the digestive system, don’t you think?

The story of the Labyrinth is always fascinating. Built by the celestial architect Daedalus for King Minos of Crete, it was designed to contain the Minotuar –the half man, half bull monster.

The word labyrinth itself is a Minoan origin ( pre- Greek) and has survived centuries to indicate a complex maze although in reality labyrinth should just mean a single path spiralling towards the centre.

Theseus set out to kill the Minotaur but he didn’t have any idea how to escape afterwards until Ariadne, gave him a skein of thread or a ‘clew’ to point him to the way out.

Did you know that the word ‘clue’ comes from this. Now this means an aid towards a solution, but in ancient times clew literally meant a ball of thread!

Anyway back to the labyrinth, it is easy to get lost in the maze of Greek mythology. When anatomist dissected the skull and found the bony part containing the inner ear with all its convoluted passages that contain the cochlea and the vestibular canal. The former related to hearing and the latter to balance. So when you get labyrinthitis you lose your balance and get vertigo.

It is because the anatomists found the architecture so compellingly complex with many passages, they called it the labyrinth. The labyrinth is found in all vertebrates.

I never knew until now that the word ‘ lens’ comes from the lentils. The species name for lentils is lens culinaris.

The anatomists felt that the lens of the eye is shaped like a lentil and so called it after the humble lentil. Since then that name has stuck for all lenses. The  biconves shape of the lens is shared by the humble lentil.

Talking about the human eye, brings us to Lachryma which literally means ‘tear’.

The lachrymal gland is the one in the eye that produces tears.

Tears have many functions- not just for crying- they lubricate, they function as antiseptics, they wash the eye and also provide surface nutrition and a film of protection.If you have dry eyes when tear glands dry up you could get itchy, gritty eyes with constant infections and redness.

The term lachrymal pertains to the tear and if you want to be posh , then you can say someone who is 'tearful'  is 'lachrymose'.

I only wanted to talk about this because of the fascinating story I heard when I traveled near Pompeii and around Mount Vesuvius. We drank a delightful wine called ‘ Lachryma Christi’ that I guessed meant ‘Tear of the Christ’. This wine is produced from the vineyards on the fertile slopes of mount Vesuvius, ironically made fertile by the very eruption that destroyed thousands of lives at Pompeii.

The story goes that when Christ cried over Lucifer’s fall from heaven into the depths of Vesuvius, his tears fell on the ground and enriched the land.

The Campanaian red wine of Lachryma Christi is earthy, juicy, plummy and has a peppery taste on the tongue with delicate hints of Neapolitan lemon and apples. The whites are crisp and dry like the Mediterranean air with a fine bouquet on the nose.

You can learn to talk 'knowledgably' like this about any wine after a few glasses, it is fun. You try it. Talk about fruits, citrus, plums, currants, earth, rain, in the right fractions using adjectives such as robust, arrogant, subtle, sublime, gentle, seductive and you will sound like a oenophile.

What on earth, you may ask, is a oenophile- it is a wine lover, or a connoisseur or a wine aficionado, dear reader. Someone who has a ritual dedication in tasting, collecting and consumption of fine wine.

The Roman god of wines is Bacchus. A Bacchanalia is a wine soaked celebration. So next time we have a party where the wine flows freely I shall call it a Bacchanalia! Everyone's welcome, bring a wine bottle.  Or, if you are being a classical snob, a bursa.

If you remember your lessons correctly you will know what a 'bursa' is from the first chapter!

All this talk of wine makes me want to go get a glass. I have got a fine bottle of Barolo breathing downstairs. So I bid you farewell and thank you for your visit.

I hope you enjoyed this trip around the human body.

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I appreciate your attention and do come back for the next chapter.

Thank you.

Copyright © Mohan Kumar 2011