SYNONYMY IN ANATOMICAL TERMINOLOGY

Abstract

The article addresses the issue of studying noun and adjective synonymy in the Latin anatomical terminology. Different views on the problem of noun and adjective synonymic relations in the anatomical terminology are considered.  The complex of Latin nouns-synonyms, their signs and functional specifics are described. Latin terminological units are divided into three groups:1) absolute synonyms; 2) synonyms of varying compatibility; 3) quasi-synonyms. Group 1 includes absolute synonyms which have appeared due to the revision of anatomical nomenclature and are of the similar semantic meaning. Group 2 – nouns, often terminological pairs, having different compatibility in the anatomical terminology. The most numerous Group 3 includes the so-called quasi-synonyms – terms of similar meaning intended for differentiation of various anatomical notions. Meanwhile, it has been found that the signs of Latin quasi-synonyms differentiation in the anatomical terminology may vary greatly and contain an indication on the shape of an object, type of tissue, morphological similarity, object location, etc. Most often used synonymic adjectives are analysed. They have been found to belong to Group 2 of the classification above, since the choice of the term-adjective most commonly depends on the compatibility, that is on the noun it is related to.