762 
pluvinse, and thermidor, are intended to shew 
the species of weather whiclt prevails at cere 
tain periods of the year. Let us see the im- 
rovement: the weather being variable even 
m France, and the rain and “snow not hap- 
pening to fall always at the time foretold in 
the calendar, these terms become so many 
J ing predictions ; and in countries where 
ae seasons and climate are different, are an 
absurd unintelligible jargon. But what are 
the descriptive terms in anatomy? Not a 
great deal better. Many of these, as sphe- 
noides, cthmoides, astragalus, cuboides, which 
are founded ‘on vague and remote analogies, 
scarcely convey the most distant idea of the 
orms which they were meant to express :— 
many which contain allasions to functions, 
and seem to communicare something of im- 
portance, deceive thousands of *he mdolent 
and credglous, who trust to their lame and 
imperfect information ;—some, again, as le- 
vator seapule, and suptnator radii longus, are 
almost unavoidable sources of error, from di- 
rectly insinuating what is not true ;—and 
some, as it were taking advantage of a partial 
and erroneous classification, pretend to in- 
form us of what belongs to this or that funcs 
tion, excluding, by a kind of secret reserva- 
tion, some of the principal organs employed. 
"This is cvident in our distinction and arrange- 
ment of muscles into flevors, extensors, pro- 
_nators, and szpinators. But by no means the 
Teast numerous class are those which allude 
to frivolows circumstances; some of which, 
Vike sella turcica, and the word /ippecampus, 
seem intended to illustrate the things which 
we see, and which we may handle, by com- 
paring them to objects which we either have 
not seen, or have seldom an opportunity of 
observing. Much discernment, therctore, 
and eaution, are highly requisite in the use 
and application of such terms; for wherever 
their descriptions are frivolous or vague, or 
wherever they are false, whether founded on 
jgnorahee, error, or hypothesis, they cin 
hardly fail, if used in their primary and ori- 
ginal’ sense, to be hurtful to science; nay, 
even when true and accurately just: they can- 
not be admitted unless when concise; for be 
their powers what, they will, they become ri- 
diculous when they run out to the length of 
sentences. . 
_. Are all’ such terms then to be rejected 
from the language of anatomy? And ought 
‘there to be a complete revolution in its no- 
nenclature? To answer these questions it 
anay be,observed, that no where perhaps is 
.pradence more necessary than in our attempts 
‘toinnoyate on habits and established customs. 
"Phose terms may surely be retained which 
are just amd aceurate, and not too long; 
those which assist us im: diseriminating ob- 
jects ;. and those likewise, however absurd 
their general allusions, that, in course of 
otic, have luid-aside their primary sense, and 
-begun. to be used as arbitvary names.” 
ey TLetus.pu rege this subject alittlefarther 
MEDICINE, SURGERY, ANATOMY, &c. 
than our author, and give some of the 
leading features of the present system of 
anatomical nomenclature, if systemit may 
be called. “A very large class of names 
is that which expresses the form of the 
organ, either absolutely as bicéps, triceps, 
serratus, or {rom a resemblance more or 
less accurate with other visible objects, as 
lambdoid, styliform, stapes, malleus, incus, 
&c. Another class shews the real or sup- 
posed use of the part, as adductor, accclera- 
tor urine, sartorius ; another class, though 
small and constantly diminishing, com- 
memorates the name of the inventor, as 
Cooper's glands, Eustachtan tube, Sehneider’s 
membrane, and a few terms are derived 
from an erroneous or whimsical origin, 
such as artery, pia mater, pomum Adami, or, 
like the os innominaium, are absurd appel- 
lations ; but the larger class of names is. 
expressive of relative situation, either in 
the form of a definition, hke the com- 
pound term accipi‘o-frontalis, denoting 
both the origin and insertion of a muscles, 
or, more generally, as implying connec 
tion with a particular organ, as hepatic 
artery. ; 
Dr. Barclay appears to be.most exclu 
sively attached to the latter class, which, 
when well contrived, answers the purpose 
of topographical description, and on that 
account is highly estimable ; but we cah- 
not entirely agree with him in the ob~ 
jection, qualified as it is, which he urges 
against many of the terms ef our first- 
mentioned class. However far-fetched 
and distant be the resemblance to other 
objects, though not one out of ten thou- 
sand students shoulc ever have seen a 
Turkish saddle in his travels, ér a hippos 
campus in his books of natural history,. 
though the os scaphoides should not put. 
them in mind of a boat, or the corner of 
a ploughshare ; yet when the resemblance 
is once pointed out, the mind catches at 
the association, and it soon becomes ine. 
delible. The tax on the memory in ana-. 
tomy is so heavy, and, as far as nomen- 
clature is concerned, is so much greater. 
than in chemistry, that every artificial 
means of lessening its burthen should’ be. 
studiously encouraged; and we appeal. 
to the experience of every learner, whe- 
ther the terms that express resemblance 
in shape to known objects, however re- 
mote, are not precisely those which the 
soonest lay hold-of the memory, and 
cling to it the most tenaciously. — 
Of the singularly happy names, per- 
haps none is superior to that of the first 
vertebra. ‘The classical allusion com-. 
