Monday, June 14, 2010

Anatomic adjectival forms

In anatomy, most nouns have a corresponding adjective. In medicine, the adjectival forms are not always derived from the same root as the noun form.

Doctors don't usually refer to stomach flu, when they can use a term like gastric flu.

Likewise, the adjective for finger is not finger-like or fingy; it's digital. Speaking of "digital," medical software developers who work in natural language processing, need to have lists of the adjectival forms of anatomic nouns. I prepared the following computer-parsable list for my own use. I thought that others working in the field of medical informatics may have a use for these terms. If you have additional terms to add, please submit them as a comment to this posting.

As with all the documents and software I provide, the following
disclaimer holds:

The data list is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind,
express or implied, including but not limited to the warranties
of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and
noninfringement. in no event shall the authors or copyright
holders be liable for any claim, damages or other liability,
whether in an action of contract, tort or otherwise, arising
from, out of or in connection with the data list or the use or
other dealings in the data list.

The data list, created by Jules J. Berman, on June 5, 2010, is
donated to the Public Domain.

abdomen <=> abdominal
adenohypophysis <=> adenohypophyseal
adnexa <=> adnexal
adnexae <=> adnexal
alveolus <=> alveolar
amygdala <=> amygdaloid
anatomy <=> anatomic or anatomical
antecubitus <=> antecubital
antrum <=> antral
anus <=> anal
aorta <=> aortic or aortal
appendix <=> appendiceal
arm <=> brachial
artery <=> arterial
aryepiglottis <=> aryepiglottic
atrium <=> atrial
bladder (urinary bladder or vesica) <=> vesical
bone <=> osseous
brachium <=> brachial
bronchus <=> bronchial
caecum <=> caecal
calf <=> sural
callosum <=> callosal
cecum <=> cecal
cerebrum <=> cerebral
cervix <=> cervical
clitoris <=> clitoral
cloaca <=> cloacal
coelom <=> coelomic
colon <=> colonic
commissure <=> commissural
cranium <=> cranial
cuticle <=> cuticular
cutis <=> cutaneous
cytology <=> cytologic or cytological
decidua <=> decidual
dermis <=> dermal
diaphragm <=> diaphragmatic
digit <=> digital
dorsum <=> dorsal
duct <=> ductal
duodenum <=> duodenal
dura <=> dural
ear <=> aural
embryo <=> embryonic or embryonal
endocervix <=> endocervical
endometrium <=> endometrial or endometrioid
endothelium <=> endothelial
epicanthus <=> epicanthal or epicanthic
epicardium <=> epicardial
epidermis <=> epidermal or epidermic
epiglottis <=> epiglottal or epiglottic
epithelium <=> epithelial
esophagus <=> esophageal
ethmoid <=> ethmoidal
eye <=> ocular
face <=> facial
faeces <=> faecal
fascia <=> fascial
feces <=> fecal
fetus <=> fetal
finger or toe<=> digital
fibula <=> fibular
focus <=> focal
foetus <=> foetal
foot <=> pedal
forearm or elbow <=> cubital
front <=> frontal
gestation <=> gestational
gland <=> glandular
globe <=> global
glottis <=> glottal or glottic
gluteus <=> gluteal
gonad <=> gonadal
gyrus<=> gyral
haemorrhoid <=> haemorrhoidal
hallux (big toe) <=> hallucal
ham (back of knee) <=> popliteal
heart <=> cardiac or myocardial
hemorrhoid <=> hemorrhoidal
hepatocyte <=> hepatocellular
hernia <=> hernial
hiatus <=> hiatal
histiocyte <=> histiocytic
histology <=> histologic or histological
hypophysis <=> hypophyseal
ileum <=> ileac or ileal (intestine)
ilium <=> iliac or ilial (bone)
intestine <=> intestinal or enteric or enteral
ischium <=> ischial
jejunum <=> jejunal
kidney <=> renal or nephric or nephroid
labium <=> labial
larynx <=> laryngeal
leg <=> crural
leukocyte <=> leukocytic
liver <=> hepatic
lumen <=> luminal
lung <=> pulmonary or pulmonic
lymph <=> lymphatic or lymphoid
megakaryocyte <=> megakaryocytic
meninges <=> meningeal
metaphysis <=> metaphyseal
monocyte <=> monocytic or monocytoid
mouth or os<=> oral
mucus <=> mucous
myocardium <=> myocardial
myometrium <=> myometrial
neck <=> nuchal or cervical
node <=> nodal
nose <=> nasal
oesophagus <=> oesophageal
omentum <=> omental
orbit <=> orbital
os <=> oral
ovaries <=> ovarian
ovary <=> ovarian
pallidus <=> pallidal
pancreas <=> pancreatic
pathologic <=> pathologic or pathological
pelvis <=> pelvic
penis <=> penile
pericardium <=> pericardial
peritoneum <=> peritoneal
peroneum <=> peroneal
phalanges <=> phalangeal
phallus <=> phallic
pharynx <=> pharyngeal
pia <=> pial
pollex (thumb) <=> pollical
prostate <=> prostatic
rectum <=> rectal
retina <=> retinal
scrotum <=> scrotal
skin <=> cutaneous or dermal
sphincter <=> sphincteric
spine <=> spinal or vertebral
spleen <=> splenic or lienal or splanchnic or splenial
stomach <=> gastric
subcutis <=> subcutaneous
synovium <=> synovial
tear <=> lacrimal
testis or testicle <=> testicular
thalamus <=> thalamic
thorax <=> thoracic
throat <=> glottal
thymus <=> thymic
tongue <=> lingual or glossal or glottic
tooth or teeth <=> dental
trachea <=> tracheal
ureter <=> ureteral or ureteric
uterus <=> uterine
vagina <=> vaginal
vein <=> venous
ventricle <=> ventricular
vesicle (organelle, not to be confused with vesica or bladder) <=> vesicular
vessel <=> vascular
vulva <=> vulvar or vulval


In June, 2014, my book, entitled Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs: Keys to Understanding and Treating the Common Diseases was published by Elsevier. The book builds the argument that our best chance of curing the common diseases will come from studying and curing the rare diseases.



I urge you to read more about my book. There's a generous preview of the book at the Google Books site. If you like the book, please request your librarian to purchase a copy of this book for your library or reading room.

- Jules J. Berman, Ph.D., M.D. tags: common disease, orphan disease, orphan drugs, rare disease, subsets of disease, disease genetics, genetics of complex disease, genetics of common diseases, cryptic disease, terminology pitfalls and confusing terminology, adjectives, anatomic adjectival forms, medical terminology, nomenclature, pathology, synonyms, plesionyms, public domain, listing, list