Uso de prefijos y sufijos en terminologia anatomica: un análisis desde el origen etimológico / Use of prefixes and suffixes in terminologia anatomica: an analysis from an etymological origin

RESUMEN: El aprendizaje de la anatomía requiere que los estudiantes incorporen una gran cantidad de nuevo vocabulario, esto puede conllevar algunas dificultades debido al desconocimiento de la mayoría de estos términos. A pesar de los esfuerzos realizados para que el uso de la Terminologia Anatomica (TA) sea claro y preciso, la enseñanza de esta sigue siendo compleja. Bajo este contexto, se hace necesario innovar en nuevas estrategias que favorezcan el aprendizaje por parte de los estudiantes. Es por ello, que el objetivo de este estudio fue analizar, desde el origen etimológico, los prefijos y sufijos incluidos en TA, con el fin de facilitar los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje de la anatomía humana. El uso de cada prefijo y sufijo en anatomía fue explorado en la segunda edición de TA. Los afijos encontrados fueron analizados desde un punto de vista etimológico según las directrices propuestas por el Diccionario Médico-Biológico, Histórico y Etimológico de la Universidad de Salamanca. Como resultados se pudo corroborar un amplio uso de prefijos y sufijos en TA, además de constatar que todos los términos analizados, desde un punto de vista etimológico, concuerdan con su utilización actual en anatomía. Por lo tanto, el conocimiento y la comprensión de éstos, podría facilitar los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje de la anatomía humana.

SUMMARY: Learning anatomy requires students to incorporate a significant amount of new vocabulary, which may lead to some difficulties as students are unfamiliar with most of these terms. Despite efforts realized over time to make the use of Terminologia Anatomica (TA) clear and precise, teaching anatomy remains a complex issue. In this context, it becomes necessary to develop innovative new strategies that favor student learning. The objective of this study therefore, was to analyze, from an etymological origin, the prefixes and suffixes included in the TA, in order to facilitate the teaching and learning processes of human anatomy. The use of each prefix and suffix in anatomy was investigated in the second edition of the TA. The affixes found were analyzed from an etymological point of view according to the guidelines proposed by the Medical-Biological, Historical and Etymological Dictionary of the University of Salamanca. As a result, it was possible to corroborate a wide use of prefixes and suffixes in TA, and verify that all the terms analyzed from an etymological point of view, coincide with their current use in anatomy. Consequently, their knowledge and understanding could facilitate the teaching and learning processes of human anatomy.

Derivational Morphology in Agrammatic Aphasia: A Comparison Between Prefixed and Suffixed Words.

Although a relatively large number of studies on acquired language impairments have tested the case of derivational morphology, none of these have specifically investigated whether there are differences in how prefixed and suffixed derived words are impaired. Based on linguistic and psycholinguistic considerations on prefixed and suffixed derived words, differences in how these two types of derivations are processed, and consequently impaired, are predicted. In the present study, we investigated the errors produced in reading aloud simple, prefixed, and suffixed words by three German individuals with agrammatic aphasia (NN, LG, SA). We found that, while NN and LG produced similar numbers of errors with prefixed and suffixed words, SA showed a selective impairment for prefixed words. Furthermore, NN and SA produced more errors specifically involving the affix with prefixed words than with suffixed words. We discuss our findings in terms of relative position of stem and affix in prefixed and suffixed words, as well as in terms of specific properties of prefixes and suffixes.

The use of Greek and Latin prepositions and prefixes in compound names: proposed emendation of Appendix 9 of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes.

Part A of Appendix 9 - Orthography of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes regulates the formation of compound generic names and specific epithets derived by combining two or more words or word elements of Latin and/or Greek origin, using the word stems and connecting vowels (-o- or -i-) following word elements derived from Greek and Latin, respectively. The rules given and the exceptions listed are suitable for substantives (nouns) and adjectives used as word elements, but not for prepositions and prefixes. Therefore, we propose a non-retroactive modification of Appendix 9 so that the guidelines given in Part A apply only to compound names that include a noun or an adjective in a non-final position. We also propose guidelines for the proper use of Greek and Latin prepositions, prefixes and adverbs in compound names in which the following word element starts with a vowel.

How Linearity and Structural Complexity Interact and Affect the Recognition of Italian Derived Words.

The majority of words in most languages consist of derived poly-morphemic words but a cross-linguistic review of the literature (Amenta and Crepaldi in Front Psychol 3:232-243, 2012) shows a contradictory picture with respect to how such words are represented and processed. The current study examined the effects of linearity and structural complexity on the processing of Italian derived words. Participants performed a lexical decision task on three types of prefixed and suffixed words and nonwords differing in the complexity of their internal structure. The processing of these words was indeed found to vary according to the nature of the affixes, the order in which they appear, and the type of information the affix encodes. The results thus indicate that derived words are not a uniform class and the best account of these findings appears to be a constraint-based or probabilistic multi-route processing model (e.g., Kuperman et al. in Lang Cogn Process 23:1089-1132, 2008; J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 35:876-895, 2009; J Mem Lang 62:83-97, 2010).

Prefixes repel stress in reading aloud: Evidence from surface dyslexia.

This study examined the importance of prefixes as sublexical cues for stress assignment during reading aloud English disyllabic words. In particular, we tested the hypothesis that prefixes repel stress (Rastle & Coltheart, 2000) by investigating the likelihood with which patients with surface dyslexia assign second-syllable stress to prefixed words. Five such patients were presented with three types of disyllabic words for reading aloud: 'regular' prefixed words with weak-strong stress pattern (e.g., remind); 'irregular' prefixed words with strong-weak stress pattern (e.g., reflex); and non-prefixed words with strong-weak stress pattern (e.g., scandal). Results showed that all five patients frequently regularized the strong-weak prefixed words by pronouncing them with second syllable stress. These regularization errors provide strong evidence for the functional role of prefixes in stress assignment during reading. Additional computational simulations using the rule-based algorithm for pronouncing disyllables developed by Rastle and Coltheart (2000) and the CDP++ model of reading aloud (Perry et al., 2010) allowed us to evaluate how these two opponent approaches to reading aloud fare in respect of the patient data.