276 Journal of Comparative Neurology. 



are familiar with those polyonyms, whether vena cava inferior, 

 vena cava asccndens, or vena cava posterior, could hardly fail to 

 recognize its signification. Since 1881 no other term \kya,xi post- 

 cava has been used by me for the great vein in question. I 

 have yet to learn of a single instance of misapprehension or 

 other difficulty caused thereby among either general or special 

 students. 



§180. There remains the question of the etymologic or- 

 thodoxy o{ postcava, and this involves the much more comprehen- 

 sive and difficult question as to the definition of etymologic 

 orthodoxy. Without presuming to invade the jurisdiction of 

 philologic experts, for the practical discussion of the case in 

 point, precedents need be sought in only two periods, the classic 

 and the recent. 



§181. I freely admit that there is known to me no in- 

 stance in classic Latin literature of the employment of post, 

 whether alone or in composition, with the force of an adjective 

 and as equivalent to posterns or posterior. That this negative 

 evidence is hardly conclusive may be seen from a single case 

 among the scores that might be adduced. With the Romans 

 item was an adverb. With us it is not only an adverb, but also 

 a noun and a verb, and the basis of two derivatives, itemise d,nd 

 itemizer. 



§182. In recent times the precedents are partly direct and 

 partly indirect. Among the former are postabdomen, postact, 

 postarytenoid, postf actor, postfiirca, postpiibis, postscapnla. In all 

 of these post has the force of an adjective, not of a preposition. 



§183. Indirect precedents are cases in which other prepo- 

 sitions have the force of adjectives in composition. Such are 

 preadaptation, precentor, preexistence, preformation, presternum; 

 also siibgenns, snbflavor, sub factor, submaster, subtitle} 



§184. Since, however, the German committee sanction 

 none of the anatomic terms in the foregoing lists and avoid the 



' Among analogous Greek words the following has been furnished me by 

 my friend, L. L. Forman, Instructor in Greek at Cornell University: TzpoipbXa^, 

 an advance guard. 



