The current paper provides a contemporary perspective on Latin's role as the language of medicine, specifically focusing on its terminological aspect. It delves into the essential terminological vocabularies indispensable for medical practitioners, with particular emphasis on three fundamental categories. Foremost among these is anatomical terminology, which continues to predominantly utilize Latin on an international scale. Clinical disciplines present a more diverse scenario, where alongside Latin terms, expressions from ancient origins, often in ethnic languages, are extensively employed. Additionally, driven partly by the demands of digitization, there have been repeated efforts to promote English as a potential successor in the realm of clinical medicine, owing to its widespread adoption. In pharmaceutical terminology, Latin persists as a vital means of global communication, upheld by the European Pharmacopoeia (2014) and the International Non-proprietary Names corpus (2013, 2017). Nonetheless, future considerations should acknowledge the growing competition from national languages in this domain.

language of medicine, anatomical nomenclature, clinical terminology

Banay GL. An Introduction to medical terminology: I. Greek and Latin derivations. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1948;36(1):1–27.

Bujalkova M, Dzuganova B. English and Latin corpora of medical terms – a comparative study. Int J Humanit Soc Sci Educ. 2015;2(12):82–91.

Džuganová B. English medical terminology – different ways of forming medical terms. JAHR. 2013;4(7):55–69.

Bieliaieva OM, Lysanets YV, Znamenska IV, Rozhenko IV, Nikolaieva NM. Terminological collocations in medical Latin and English: a comparative study. Wiad Lek. 2017;70(1):139–43.

Marecková E, Simon F, Cervený L. Latin as the language of medical terminology: some remarks on its role and prospects. Swiss Med Wkly. 2002;132(41-42):581–7.

Dzuganova B. A brief outline of the development of medical English. Bratisl Lek Listy. 2002;103(6):223–7.

Arráez-Aybar LA, Bueno-López JL, Raio N. Toledo School of Translators and their influence on anatomical terminology. Ann Anat. 2015;198:21–33. doi: 10.1016/j.aanat.2014.12.003.

Bieliaieva O, Lysanets Y, Melaschenko M. Latin as a language of international communicative status: medicine of the 16th-17th centuries. Georgian Med News. 2017;262:120–4.

Bieliaieva OM. Latin-Ukrainian thesaurus of clinical terms. Medytsyna: Kiev, Ukraine; 2016.

Baune BT, Eyre H. Anti-inflammatory effects of antidepressant and atypical antipsychotic medication for the treatment of major depression and comorbid arthritis: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2010;4:6. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-4-6.

Bîrluţiu V, Bîrluţiu RM. The management of abdominal hydatidosis after the rupture of a pancreatic hydatid cyst: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2015;9:27. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-9-27.

Goemaere N, Grijm K, Hal P, Bakker M. Nitrofurantoin-induced pulmonary fibrosis: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2008;2:169. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-2-169.

Papavramidis TS, Sapalidis K, Pappas D, Karagianopoulou G, Trikoupi A, Souleimanis C, Papavramidis ST. Gigantic hepatic amebic abscess presenting as acute abdomen: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2008;2:325. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-2-325.

Kantas I, Papadopoulou A, Balatsouras DG, Aspris A, Marangos N. Therapeutic approach to Gradenigo’s syndrome: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2010;4:151. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-4-151.

Ramaswami A, Kandaswamy T, Rajendran T, Aung H, Jacob CK, Zinna HS, Telesinge PU. Goodpasture’s syndrome with positive C-ANCA and normal renal function: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2008;2:223. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-2-223.

Silas OA, Adoga AA, Manasseh AN, Echejoh GO, Vhriterhire RA, Mandong BM. Persistent alveolar soft-part sarcoma with liver metastasis: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2010;4:233. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-4-233.

Patel G, Choudhry M, Lakhoo K. The diagnostic dilemma of a multilocular renal cyst: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2009;3:79. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-3-79.

Rahim KF, Dawe RS. Dermatomyositis presenting with symptomatic dermographism and raised troponin T: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2009;3:7319. doi: 10.4076/1752-1947-3-7319.

Boucher MB, Bedotto M, Couderc C, Gomez C, Reynaud-Gaubert M, Drancourt M. Haemophilus pittmaniae respiratory infection in a patient with siderosis: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2012;6:120. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-6-120.

Ciemniewska-Gorzela K, Piontek T, Szulc A. Abdominal compartment syndrome – the prevention and treatment of possible lethal complications following hip arthroscopy: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2014;8:368. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-8-368.

Kelly DW, Kelly BD. A novel diagnostic sign of hip fracture mechanism in ground level falls: two case reports and review of the literature. J Med Case Rep. 2012;6:136. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-6-136.

Burdan F, Dworzański W, Cendrowska-Pinkosz M, Burdan M, Dworzańska A. Anatomical eponyms – unloved names in medical terminology. Folia Morphol (Warsz) 2016;75(4):413–38. doi: 10.5603/FM.a2016.0012.

Musil V, Suchomel Z, Malinova P, Stingl J, Vlcek M, Vacha M. The history of Latin terminology of human skeletal muscles (from Vesalius to the present) Surg Radiol Anat. 2015;37(1):33–41. doi: 10.1007/s00276-014-1305-7.

Neumann PE. Write right, quite right: orthography in Latin anatomical terms. Clin Anat. 2017;31(1):77–80. doi: 10.1002/ca.22995.

Neumann PE. One vowel or two? Diphthongs, digraphs, ligatures, and diaereses, oh my! Clin Anat. 2017;30(8):1013–6. doi: 10.1002/ca.22942.

Neumann PE. Adoption of azygos, hemiazygos, and dartos. Clin Anat. 2017;30(4):450–1. doi: 10.1002/ca.22856

Halberstein AR. Medicinal plants: historical and cross-cultural usage patterns. Ann Epidemiol. 2005;15(9):686–99. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2005.02.004.

Oren A, Schink B. Formation of names of genera of prokaryotes that end on -oides or -opsis: a proposal for addenda to Rule 65(2) and Appendix 9 of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2016;66:2452–3. doi: 10.1099/ijsem.0.001031.

Lysanets YV, Havrylieva KH. Medical eponyms as a subject of controversies in the modern terminology studies. Topical Issues Mod Med. 2017;17;4(60):225–7.

Whitworth JA. Should eponyms be abandoned? BMJ. 2007;335:425. doi: 10.1136/bmj.39308.380567.AD.

Lysanets Yu, Morokhovets H, Bieliaieva O. Stylistic features of case reports as a genre of medical discourse. J Med Case Rep. 2017;11(1):83.

Higgins C. Why study Latin? The Guardian. 24 May 2009Accessed 20 Nov 2017.

Rein K. Relevance of Latin as perceived by the students of medicine. Eesti Arst. 2004;83(11):730–7.

Smith SB, Carmichael SW, Pawlina W, Spinner RJ. Latin and Greek in gross anatomy. Clin Anat. 2007;20(3):332–7. doi: 10.1002/ca.20342.

Turmezei TD. The linguistic roots of Modern English anatomical terminology. Clin Anat. 2012;25(8):1015–22. doi: 10.1002/ca.22062.

Stephens S, Moxham BJ. The attitudes of medical students toward the importance of understanding classical Greek and Latin in the development of an anatomical and medical vocabulary. Clin Anat. 2016;29(6):696–701. doi: 10.1002/ca.22700.

Morokhovets HY, Lysanets YV. Developing the professional competence of future doctors in the instructional setting of higher medical educational institutions. Wiad Lek. 2017;70(1):101–4.

Bieliaieva O, Lysanets Y, Havrylieva K, Znamenska I, Rozhenko I, Nikolaieva N. Paronymy in the sublanguage of medicine (linguistic and linguo-didactic aspects) Georgian Med News. 2017;271:144–9.

Romanko IG, Solohor IM, Bielieieva OM, Lysanets YV. English for professional use: dentistry: textbook for dental students of higher educational institutions. Medytsyna: Kiev, Ukraine; 2015. [

Lysanets YuV, Bieliaieva OM, Melaschenko MP. Medical English for Academic and Teaching Purposes. Medytsyna: Kiev, Ukraine; 2018.