Rubén D. Algieri; María Soledad Ferrante & Eduardo Pró

Ongoing international discussions have been carried out for over a century in order to coordinate criteria regarding universal Anatomy language prioritizing the search for an equivalent term by choosing only one nomination to designate a single concept. In the latest effort to agree on anatomical terms the "International Anatomical Terminology" (IAT) which replaced the previously called "Anatomical Nomination". A retrospective statistical study was carried out through an anonymous survey of 96 medical specialists in General Surgery at the anatomy chairmanship of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires during May/2005 to May/2006. We considered the years as a graduate and a specialist, knowledge of anatomical nomenclature and specialty reference review. It was then compared with a repeat survey of 92 specialist physicians in General Surgery during July 2010 to July 201l. Of the 96 medical specialists in General Surgery, respondents in the first period 30 (31.25%) were unaware of an official list of names of anatomical structures and 66 (68.75%) knew of its existence. Of these, 66 were aware of an official list, 60 (90.91%) presented difficulties in naming the listing and 6 (9.09%) correctly enunciated the IAT. Of the 92 medical specialists in General Surgery respondents in the second period, 9 (9.78%) were unaware of an official list of names of anatomical structures and 83 (90.22%) knew of its existence. By questioning the 83 on the official name of the listing of names of anatomical structures, 32 (38.55%) had difficulty naming the listing and 51 (61.45%) correctly named the AIT. In reference to General Surgery, we have seen that in time the number of medical specialists who learned of the existence of an official list of names of anatomical structures, has increased. Furthermore, they have also begun to implement the International Anatomical Terminology as the official source of anatomical terms, however, a majority still remains who are unaware of its existence. It is therefore, necessary to work in this area, in order to encourage and achieve permanent update, unify terms and facilitate teaching and learning. It is also important to avoid confusion in scientific communication between different parts of the world and among specialists of different age groups and groups of different graduating years. It is those who specialize in morphological disciplines as well as those who apply them in everyday activities who are responsible for disseminating the information.

ALGIERI, R. D.; FERRANTE, M. S. & PRÓ, E. Analysis of the General Surgeon's knowledge of International Anatomical Terminology (IAT). Int. J. Morphol., 31(4):1511-1516, 2013.