| Uro-words making history: ureter and urethra. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20166127 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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PURPOSE: We comprehensively review the history of the terms "ureter" and "urethra" from 700 BC to the present. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using a case study approach, ancient medical texts were analyzed to clarify the etymology and use of both terms. In addition, selected anatomy textbooks from the 15th to 17th centuries were searched to identify and compare descriptions, illustrations, and various expressions used by contemporary authors to designate the upper and lower parts of the urinary tract. RESULTS: The Ancient Greek words "ureter" and "urethra" appear early in Hippocratic and Aristotelian writings. However, both terms designated what we today call the urethra. It was only with increasing anatomical knowledge in Greek medical texts after the 1st century AD that definitions of these words evolved similar to those we employ today. Numerous synonyms were used which served as a basis for translation into Arabic and later Latin during the transfer of ancient knowledge to the cultures of the medieval period. When Greek original texts and their Arabic-Latin version were compared during the Renaissance, this led to terminological confusion which could only be gradually overcome. Around the year 1600, the use of the latinized terms "ureter" and "urethra" became generally accepted. The dissemination of these terms in modern national languages and the emergence of clinical derivatives complete this historical development. CONCLUSIONS: The history of the terms "ureter" and "urethra" is exemplary of the difficulties with which the development of a precise urologic terminology had to struggle. The story behind the words also clarifies why even today we still have imprecise or misleading terms. |
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Authors:
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Franz Josef Marx; Axel Karenberg |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Historical Article; Journal Article; Review |
Journal Detail:
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Title: The Prostate Volume: 70 ISSN: 1097-0045 ISO Abbreviation: Prostate Publication Date: 2010 Jun |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-05-24 Completed Date: 2010-06-28 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 8101368 Medline TA: Prostate Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 952-8 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Institute for the History of Medicine and Medical Ethics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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History, 15th Century History, 16th Century History, 17th Century History, 18th Century History, 19th Century History, 20th Century History, 21st Century History, Ancient History, Medieval Humans Terminology as Topic* Ureter* Urethra* Urology / history* |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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