Anatomical names of foramina and canales in skeleton

Abstract

Latin anatomical names of Foramina and Canales in skeleton were analyzed and compared with Japanese anatomical names for better understanding of the structures of the human body and for possible revision in the future. The conclusions were as follows: 1. In general, short tunnels were called Foramina (singular: Foramen), and long tunnels Canales (singular: Canalis). 2. One end of Canalis was sometimes called Foramen. In this case, Canalis and Foramen were usually modified by the same words. 3. Each name of Foramina contained the word which means form, state, absolute size, region of existence, one of the contents or function of Foramina. 4. Each name of Canales contained the word which means region of existence, one of the contents or function of Canales. 5. Some names of Foramina and Canales that were supposed to mean the region of existence meant one of the contents of the structures. 6. As for Latin anatomical names, the relation between words were relatively clear by the proper use of noun, adjective, nominative, and genitive. 7. Since different Chinese characters were sometimes pronounced similarly in Japanese anatomical names, different structures might be confused. 8. It seemed that some Japanese anatomical names needed partial correction.