SOME NEURAL TERMS. 1 63 



permanency as is conventionally assigned to synonyms in sys- 

 tematic zodlogy. Nevertheless, for a time, at least, they encumber 

 current publications and dictionaries. Hence, however neces- 

 sary and legitimate they may seem to the framer, neither a new 

 term nor an old one in a new sense should be actually pub- 

 lished without prolonged consideration, and consultation with 

 at least four individuals representing as many categories of 

 possible critics: {a) an investigator of the same general subject; 

 (b) an experienced teacher; {c) an earnest student; {d) a philo- 

 logic expert whose admiration for the past has not blinded him 

 to the needs of the present and the future. 



Method of hitrodiiction of Nciv Terms. — As " urgently 

 recommended " by the A. A. A. S. Committee on Biological 

 Nomenclature, " Whenever a technical word is used for the 

 first time the author should give in a special note : {a) the 

 Latin form; {b) the etymology; {c) the proper adopted form or 

 paronym for his own language, with the adjective, etc., when 

 applicable; {d) as concise and precise a definition as possible." 



Indirect Responsibility for Latin Terms. — Even when the 

 foregoing admirable rule is not followed, the validity of the 

 following can hardly be questioned: " The introduction of any 

 derivative, oblique case, or national paronym renders the intro- 

 ducer responsible for the actual or potential Latin antecedent 

 of such word in accordance with the usual rules of derivation 

 and paronymy (p. 148). 



Paronyms vs. Heteronyms. — Excepting with a few con- 

 spicuous or particularly important parts, e.g., head, heart, brain, 

 etc., there should be employed either the Latin (international) 

 names or the national paronyms. It is quite true that " calling 

 a millstone by a Greek name does not enable us to see a whit 

 farther into it "; yet the designation of parts of the body by 

 terms of classic source, even if somewhat modified in form, 

 enables the anatomists of other nationalities to apprehend the 

 signification more readily than they might from vernacular words. 



Homonyms. — As has been repeatedly observed (pp. 1 1 3, 

 144, 156), the context commonly averts misapprehension as to 

 words having two or more meanings. The probability of con- 

 founding the mouth with a bone is scarcely greater than that 



