ON THE ADJECTIVE LYMPHATICUS

Abstract

The Latin word lympha is derived fromthe adjective limpidus = clear, transparent, although some Roman grammarians tried another derivation from the Greek word for water sprite nymfé, and then the adjective lymphaticus meant in Latin “stricken with nymph-like anger, gripped by madness.” Thomas Bartholin, discoverer of the lymphatic system, was the first to use the word lymphaticus for new veins, because the liquid in them was watery. This term was accepted into the Basiliensia Nomina Anatomica but this did not mean the end of attempts at terminological changes, probably in an effort to eliminate the incorrect connotations based on the original understanding of this adjective. Other adjectival forms appeared, such as lympharis, lymphaceus, lymphatus, lympho- vascularis. The most recent development isthe adjective lymphoideus, occurring in the Terminologia Anatomica, which is supposed to mean the organs producing lymph but this is not correct, since the suffix -oideus indicates similarity. Considering that the anatomical nomenclature manages with the adjective urinarius for the organs which produce and carry urine, it should also manage with the adjective lymphaticus for the organs whichproduce and carry lymph.