Lexemas ‘glossa’ (γλῶσσα)-‘glotta’ (γλῶττα) y sus Derivados en Terminologia Anatomica

Abstract

The scientific language in the field of anatomy and health sciences relies on a terminology that has been open to discussions and modifications. In Terminologia Anatomica, the term lengua comes from the Latin Lingua. However, there are also terms derived from the Greek lexemes glossa and glotta, both meaning ‘tongue.’ This establishes hyperonymy and synonymy among anatomical structures related to this sensory-muscular organ. The objective was to analyze the presence of the lexemes glossa-glotta in Terminologia Anatomica and review the definitions of terms containing these lexemes using the Diccionario Manual Griego-Español VOX and the Vocabulario Básico de Griego con anotaciones morfológicas y etimológicas. For Spanish etymology, the Diccionario panhispánico de términos médicos and the Diccionario Médico-Biológico, Histórico y Etimológico were used. The first use in Spanish was determined using the Corpus Diacrónico del Español. The studied lexemes were cited 15 times in Terminologia Anatomica, defined as ‘tongue, mouth; speech, gift of speech; expression, manifestation, words; speech, tongue, language, idioma.’ Some derived terms are also found, such as Ductus thyroglossalis, Epiglottis, Glottis, Ligamentum thyroepiglotticum, and Vallecula epiglottica. Therefore, these lexemes are considered synonymous. The lexeme glossa was first used in the medical field in 1870. The lexemes glossa and glotta are frequent in Terminologia Anatomica, raising questions about the use of double sigma in Ionic Greek and double tau in classical Attic Greek. Although synonymous, their abundance emphasizes the importance of mastering anatomical language for effective communication and precise understanding among students, professionals, and researchers.