A system of anatomic nomenclature, consisting of about 7500 terms, devised and approved by the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) and promulgated in August 1997 at São Paulo, Brazil.Since its foundation in 1903 the IFAA has held periodic conventions for the standardization of anatomic concepts and terminology. In 1989 the Federation appointed a Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FCAT) to undertake a wholesale revision of the last (sixth) edition of Nomina Anatomica (NA VI). Having solicited suggestions from anatomists around the world, the committee formulated and published a list of terms for consideration. During 8 years of deliberations, the committee rejected or altered about 10% of previously standard terms because they were deemed inaccurate, ambiguous, or otherwise unsuitable. About 1,000 new terms, including many that were already in unofficial use, were added. TA was officially promulgated in August,1997, at São Paulo, Brazil. Because English is spoken in many countries and serves as a common language for scientific and medical communication, English equivalents of Latin terms are given in the published version of TA. However, only the Latin terms have official status.