Preface

The course “The Latin language” introduces students to the Latin and Greek medi-
cal terms that are commonly used in Medicine. The course consists of three parts:
1. Anatomical terminology, based on Latin (anatomical terms)
2. Clinical terminology, based on Greek (names of diseases, methods of diagnostics
and treatment)
3. Pharmaceutical terminology, based on Latin (drug names, chemical names, pre-
scriptions)

Anatomical terminology

Latin was the language of science until the 18 th Century, so all medical texts were
written in Latin. It has several advantages that classical languages offer, its constancy, in-
ternational character, and neutrality. Only Latin is the international basis for creating
equivalent terms in other languages. English medical terminology developed from me-
dieval Latin terminology, which had absorbed a Greek terminology. Only a few medical
terms came from the oldest developmental period of the English language.

Anatomical terminology, or Anatomical nomenclature is a system of terms used

in Anatomy. The first official Latin anatomical nomenclature “Nomina anatomica” was
introduced at a congress of the Anatomists in Basle in 1895, the last international edition,
called Terminologia Anatomica, was introduced by the International Anatomical Nomen-
clature Committee and published in 1998 (second edition was in 2019).

The aim of the course is to get by heart anatomical terms (basic vocabulary)
and basic grammatical phenomena and rules necessary to dissect and translate
anatomical terms.
 Topic “Noun. Nomen substantivum”

Noun is a name of a thing. You should remember what morphological components

of a noun are: prefix, root, suffix, ending. A stem is a part of a word without an ending.
The ending changes and indicates grammatical categories of the noun.

1. Grammatical categories of a noun are as follows:

Grammatical categories Examples

Many nouns with the ending -us
masculinum (m) nervus (nerve)
musculus (muscle)
digitus (finger)
Nouns with the ending -a
costa (rib)
Gender (genus) vertebra (vertebra)
femininum (f) vena (vein)
Gender of the noun is Exceptions: Greek words ending in
identified by ending -ma like systema, diaphragma
Nouns with the ending -um
dorsum (back)
cranium (scull)
neutrum (n) collum (neck)
Few Greek words with the ending -on
skeleton, acromion, olecranon
You should memorize these endings of masculinum, femininum, neutrum!

Number (numerus) Singularis (S.) costa nervus os

The plural ending varies (rib) (nerve) (bone)
depending on
gender and declension costae nervi ossa
Pluralis (Pl.) (ribs) (nerves) (bones)

Case (casus) Nominativus indicates the subject and

Case is defined as Nominativus answers the questions who, what.
changing the form of a noun (N.)
depending on its relation- os (bone)
ship to other words.

There are 6 cases in Latin. Genetivus indicates the possession, or

For the anatomical termi- “belong to” and answers the questions
nology you need Genetivus (G.) whose, of what.
only 2 cases.
ossis (of bone)
2. A Latin noun's dictionary entry consists of the nominative singular, followed by
the genitive singular, and finally the gender. The Genetivus singularis (G.S.) is impor-
tant for identifying the declension!

Three types of dictionary entry:

1) Words whose stem does not change by cases. E.g.:

Dictionary form Reading Stem

costa, ae f costa, costae femininum cost-
N.S., G.S., gender rib of rib feminine
oculus, i m oculus, oculi masculinum ocul-
eye of eye masculine
collum, i n collum, colli neutrum coll-
neck of neck neuter
canalis, is m canalis, canalis masculinum canal-
canal of canal masculine
processus, us m processus, processus masculinum process-
process of process masculine
facies, ei f facies, faciei femininum faci-
surface/face of face feminine

2) Monosyllabic words of the 3rd declension have their full form in Genitive case. The
stem is identifying by the form of the noun in the Genitive case.

Dictionary form Reading Stem

os, ossis n os, ossis neutrum oss-
N.S., G.S., gender bone, of bone neuter
pars, partis f pars, partis femininum part-
N.S., G.S., gender part, of part feminine
pes, pedis m pes, pedis masculinum ped-
N.S., G.S., gender foot, of foot masculine

3) Words whose stem changes by cases (words of the 3 rd declension). The stem is iden-
tifying by the form of the noun in the Genitive case. Stems in Nominative and Geni-
tive cases are different!

Dictionary form Reading Stem

articulatio, onis f articulatio, articulationis femininum articulation-
N.S., G.S., gender joint of joint feminine
tendo, inis m tendo, tendinis masculinum tendin-
N.S., G.S., gender tendon of tendon masculine
caput, itis n caput, capitis neutrum capit-
N.S., G.S., gender head of head neuter

3. Declensions
 There are 5 declensions in Latin. Words in one declension have the same case end-
ings. The declension is identifying by the ending of the noun in the Genitive case!

Remember:
Declensions I II III IV V
Genitive endings -ae -i -is -us -ēi

The first (I) declension includes the feminine nouns

Endings: N.S. -a
G.S. -ae
E.g.: maxilla, ae f (upper jaw)

The second (II) declension includes the masculine and neuter nouns

Endings: N.S. -us, -er for masculine

-um, -on (Greek) for neuter
G.S. -i (for both genders)
E.g.: digitus, i m (finger)
magister, tri m (teacher)
cranium, i n (skull)
skeleton, i n

List of Greek words ending in -on:

skelěton, i n
olecrănon, i n
acromion, i n
orgănon, i n
ganglion, i n
encephălon, i n
colon, i n

The third (III) declension includes nouns of all three genders which have different
endings in Nominative singular.

Endings: N.S. -or, -er, -es, -ex, -x, -s, -is, -as, -o, -ix, -ut, -ur, -en, -us, -e and oth-
ers.
Some words do not have the ending in Nominative singular.
G.S. -is (for all genders)
E.g.: liquor, oris m (cerebral fluid)
vomer, eris m (vomer)
apex, icis m (tip, top)
paries, etis m (wall)
pharynx, ngis m (pharynx)
pars, partis f (part)
 basis, is f (base)
cavitas, atis f (cavity)
regio, onis f (region)
cervix, icis f (neck)
caput, itis n (head)
femur, oris n (thigh bone)
foramen, inis n (opening)
corpus, oris n (body)
rete, is n (net)

Words without ending in Nominative singular:

os, ossis n (bone)
os, oris n (mouth)
cor, cordis n (heart)

The fourth (IV) declension includes the masculine (about 15 words) and neuter
nouns (2 words only) like the second declension. The difference is in the Genitive ending.

Endings: N.S. -us for masculine

-u for neuter
G.S. -us (for both genders)
E.g.: arcus, us m (arch)
processus, us m (process, appendix)
genu, us n (knee)
cornu, us n (horn)

The fifth (V) includes the feminine nouns. One word is necessary for the anatomi -
cal terminology – facies, -ēi f (surface, face)

Endings: N.S. -es

G.S. -ēi

The noun in the Anatomical terminology can have four forms:

E.g.:
Nominativus singularis (N.S.) costa (rib)
Genetivus singularis (G.S.) costae (of rib)
Nominativus pluralis ([Link].) costae (ribs)
Genetivus pluralis ([Link].) costarum (of ribs)

Changing a noun by cases is called a paradigm.

 Table of endings for all declinations

Declension I II III IV V
Gender f m n m, f n m n f
Case
N.S. -a -us -um different -us -u -es
-er -on
G.S. -ae -i -is -us -ēi
[Link]. -ae -i -a -es -a, -ia -us -(u) a -es
[Link]. -arum -orum -um, -ium -uum -erum

Examples of paradigms:

Decl. I II III IV V
Gender f m n m, f n m n f
Case
N.S. vena nervus labium pulmo os sinus cornu facies
(vein) (nerve) (lip) (lung) (bone) (hollow) (horn) (surface)
G.S. venae nervi labii pulmonis ossis sinus cornus faciēi
[Link]. venae nervi labia pulmones ossa sinus cornua facies
[Link]. venarum nervorum labiorum pulmonum ossium sinuum cornuum faciērum

Topic “Structure of the anatomical terms (Word order):”

Anatomical terms can consist of one, two, three, four and more words.

1. If they consist of two or three nouns the structure will be follow:

the first word is a noun always in Nominative case, the second (as the third) – in Gen-
itive. The first word denotes "part or detail" of an organ and answers the question
“What is this?”. The second word after the preposition “of” means "entire organ"
and answers the question “Whose is this?”.
E.g.:
1) the dictionary entry: caput, itis n (head), III decl.; costa, ae f (rib), I decl.
1 2 1 2
head of rib (Eng.) – caput costae (Lat.)
N.S. G.S. N.S. G.S.

2) the dictionary entry: apex, icis n (top), III decl.; pulmo, onis m (lung) III decl.
top of lung (Eng.) – apex pulmonis (Lat.)
N.S. G.S. N.S. G.S.

3) the dictionary entry: ligamentum, i n (ligament), II decl.; genu, us n (knee), IV decl.

ligaments of knee (Eng.) – ligamenta genus (Lat.)
[Link]. G.S. [Link]. G.S.

4) the dictionary entry: tendo, inis m (tendon), III decl., musculus, i m (muscle), II decl.
tendons of muscles (Eng.) – tendines musculorum (Lat.)
[Link]. [Link]. [Link]. [Link].
2. If they consist of one noun with one, two or three adjectives the structure will be fol-
low:
the first word is the noun in Nominative case, then adjectives follow the noun. Adjec-
tives have grammatical agreement with their noun. These terms are translated from
right to left.

E.g.:
1 2 3 3 2 1
superior articular process (Eng.) – processus articularis superior (Lat.)

3. Multi-component terms with agreed and non-agreed definitions.

Latin word order (words after preposition “of” are in the Genitive case):
1 2 3
- noun + adjective + noun
N.S. N.S. G.S.
Ex.:
1 2 3
(Eng.) cruciform ligament of atlas
adj. noun noun
2 1 3
(Lat.) ligamentum cruciforme atlantis
noun, N.S. adj., N.S. noun, G.S.

1 2 3
- noun + noun + adjective
N.S. G.S. G.S.

E.g.:
1 2 3
(Eng.) body of thoracic vertebra
noun adj. noun
1 3 2
(Lat.) corpus vertebrae thoracicae
noun, N.S. noun, G.S. adj., G.S.

1 2 3 4
- noun + adjective + noun + adjective
N.S. N.S. G.S. G.S.
Ex.:
1 2 3 4
(Eng.) cardiac notch of the left lung
adj. noun adj. noun
2 1 4 3
(Lat.) incisura cardiaca pulmonis sinistri
noun, N.S. adj., N.S. noun, G.S. adj., G.S.
Multi-component terms can contain more than four words and have various word order.
Topic “The adjective. Nomen adjectivum”
Remember!
1. The adjective is written after noun.
2. The adjective agrees with the noun in gender, number, case.

Depending on the generic endings, adjectives are classified into 2 groups.

Group 1. These adjectives belong to the 1st and the 2nd declensions.
Masculine adjectives ending in -us and -er belong to the 2nd declension.
Feminine adjectives ending in -а belong to the 1st declension.
Neuter adjectives ending in -um belong to the 2nd declension.
Dictionary form of adjectives of the 1st group:
E.g.:
external – externus, a, um Reading: externus (m), externa (f), externum (n)
right – dexter, tra, trum Reading: dexter (m), dextra (f), dextrum (n)
free – liber, era, erum Reading: liber, libera, liberum
When translating terms, carefully look at the gender of the noun, the adjective
should be of the same kind!
right lung (pulmo, onis m) – pulmo dexter
right hand (manus, us f) – manus dextra
right horn (cornu, us n) – cornu dextrum
Compare Latin adjectives ending in -us with the corresponding English ones:
with the suffix -ic- with the suffix -os- with the suffix -ide- with the suffix -at-
(form, shape) (form, shape)
thoracicus – thoracic fibrosus – fibrous trapezoideus – trapezoid cruciatus – cruciate
pelvicus – pelvic serosus – serous pterydoideus – pterygoid capitatus – capitate
gastricus – gastric petrosus – petrous xiphoideus – xiphoid lunatus – lunate
hepaticus – hepatic squamosus – squamous thyroideus – thyroid

Group 2. These adjectives belong to the 3rd declension.

There are a lot of such adjectives in anatomy. Most of them are formed from nouns using
the suffix -al/-ar.
Masculine and feminine adjectives ending in -is.
Neuter adjectives ending in -e.
Dictionary entry of adjectives of the 2nd group
sacral – sacralis, e Reading: sacralis (m, f), sacrale (n),
short – brevis, e Reading: brevis, breve
In the 2nd group there are adjectives that do not change by gender in singular but change by
case.
E.g.:
simple – simplex (m, f, n). G.S. – simplicis
round – teres, etis (for ligaments and muscles only)
biceps – biceps, ipitis
(im)pair – (im)par, is
E.g.: temporal – temporalis, e
temporal process (processus, us m) – processus temporalis
temporal artery (arteria, ae f) – arteria temporalis
temporal bone (os, ossis n) – os temporale
simple joint (articulatio, onis f) – articulatio simplex
simple bony pedicle (crus, cruris n) – crus osseum simplex
Compare Latin adjectives ending in -is with the corresponding English ones:
with the suffix -al- with the suffix -ar- with the suffix -form- without suffix
(form, shape)
frontalis – frontal ulnaris – ulnar cruciformis – cruciform brevis – short
distalis – distal scapularis – scapular pisiformis – pisiform communis – common
radialis – radial orbicularis – orbicular vermiformis – vermiform mollis – soft
femoralis – femoral capillaris – capillary fungiformis – fungiform

Comparative adjectives (special group) belong to the 3rd declension.

There are only 6 adjectives! See in the vocabulary: upper, lower, front (anterior),
back (posterior), large or greater, lesser.
Masculine and feminine adjectives ending in the suffix -ior (-or)
Neuter adjectives ending in the suffix -ius (-us)
Dictionary entry:
superior, ius (upper). Reading: superior (m, f), superius (n)
large or greater – major, us Reading: major, majus
lesser – minor, us Reading: minor, minus
E.g.:
large wing (ala, ae f) – ala major
large straight muscle (musculus, i m) – musculus rectus major
large tubercle (tuberculum, i n) – tuberculum majus
Superlative adjectives
In anatomical terminology there are six such adjectives. Two adjectives with a superlative
suffix -issim-:

longissimus, a, um – the longest

latissimus, a, um – the widest

Supplemental forms:
maximus, a, um – the biggest from magnus, a, um
minimus, a, um – the smallest from parvus, a, um
supremus, a, um – the highest from superior, ius
intimus, a, um – the deepest from internus, a, um

E.g.:
highest intercostal artery – arteria intercostalis suprema
gluteus maximus / minimus – musculus gluteus maximus / minimus
little finger (smallest finger) – digitus minimus
smallest veins of the heart – venae minimae cordis
latissimus dorsi muscle – musculus latissimus dorsi
longissimus colli muscle – musculus longissimus cervicis
deep intercostal muscles – musculi intercostales intimi

Adjective paradigms

Decl. I II III
f m n m, f n
N.S. thoracica thoracicus thoracicum cervicalis major cervicale majus
G.S. thoracicae thoracici thoracici cervicalis majoris cervicalis majoris
[Link]. thoracicae thoracici thoracica cervicales majores cervicalia majora
[Link]. thoracicarum thoracicorum thoracicorum cervicalium majorum cervicalium majorum