Learning anatomy requires students to incorporate a significant amount of new vocabulary, which may lead to some difficulties as students are unfamiliar with most of these terms. Despite efforts realized over time to make the use of Terminologia Anatomica (TA) clear and precise, teaching anatomy remains a complex issue. In this context, it becomes necessary to develop innovative new strategies that favor student learning. The objective of this study therefore, was to analyze, from an etymological origin, the prefixes and suffixes included in the TA, in order to facilitate the teaching and learning processes of human anatomy. The use of each prefix and suffix in anatomy was investigated in the second edition of the TA. The affixes found were analyzed from an etymological point of view according to the guidelines proposed by the Medical-Biological, Historical and Etymological Dictionary of the University of Salamanca. As a result, it was possible to corroborate a wide use of prefixes and suffixes in TA, and verify that all the terms analyzed from an etymological point of view, coincide with their current use in anatomy. Consequently, their knowledge and understanding could facilitate the teaching and learning processes of human anatomy.