International morphological terminology

The international morphological terminology is used by the colleges of medicine and dentistry and other areas of the health sciences. It facilitates communication and exchanges between scientists from different countries of the world and it is used daily in the fields of research, teaching and medical care.

Concept, importance and scope
The international morphological terminology refers to morphological sciences as a biological sciences' branch. In this field, the form and structure are examined as well as the changes or developments in the organism. It is descriptive and functional. Basically, it covers the gross anatomy and the microscopic (histology and cytology) of living beings. It involves both development anatomy (embryology) and the anatomy of the adult. It also includes comparative anatomy between different species.

The vocabulary is extensive, varied and complex, and requires a systematic presentation. Therefore it needs a plural participation of all their protagonists to carry out this research for the development of a practical guide available to all professionals, in the manner of a universal language.

Group of experts
Within the international field, a group of experts reviews, analyzes and discusses the morphological terms of the structures of the human body, forming today's Terminology Committee (FICAT) from the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA). It deals with the anatomical, histological and embryologic terminology.

In the Latin American field, there are meetings called Iberian Latin American Symposium Terminology (SILAT), where a group of experts of the Pan American Association of Anatomy  (PAA) that speak Spanish and Portuguese, disseminates and studies the international morphological terminology.