Moving beyond the use of anatomical terms derived from the Latin word 'pudere'.

Moxham, Bernard, Pais, Diogo, Plaisant, Odile and Kramer, Beverley 2025. Moving beyond the use of anatomical terms derived from the Latin word 'pudere'. Annals of Anatomy , 152773. 10.1016/j.aanat.2025.152773

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Abstract

The International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) and its Federative International Committee for Equality and Diversity in Anatomy (FICEDA) recommended that terms relation to pudere (to be ashamed) should be removed from Terminologia Anatomica (TA) for 3 reasons: 1) they are unscientific and outside the descriptive objectivity of science; 2) biologists should not regard as ’shameful' the essential functions undertaken by structures in the perineum; 3) the terms have sexist connotations that lie beyond the principles of Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) in the anatomical sciences. The IFAA Executive subsequently required the Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminology (FIPAT) to make ALL necessary changes to terms derived from pudere. However, only partial changes were enacted by FIPAT. The matter is presently unresolved and has provoked controversy. This article provides a review of the course of events and offers arguments against those criticisms levelled against changing pudere-related terms. In light of the IFAA’s EDI principles, and as social thought and practice generally evolve, it is essential that the terminology on pudere is altered to reflect acceptable and unapologetic norms.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Biosciences
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Start Date: 2025-12-17
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0940-9602
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	22 December 2025
Date of Acceptance:	15 December 2025
Last Modified:	22 Dec 2025 10:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/183407

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