The Role of Latin and Greek in Science

Students often lament that most of the early years of studying scientific disciplines such as anatomy, botany, zoology and medicine is really an exercise in memorising long scientific names, and will comment that the purveyors of their discipline have deliberately made the terminology excruciatingly difficult simply to give their students something to do during their many years of study. For instance, they will ask why the thigh bone should be called the femur, instead of simply “the thigh bone,” and the cheek bone the maxilla, instead of “the cheek bone.”

The truth is, students of these disciplines would be calling these structures by very simple names, if only they spoke the correct language. Scientific terminology is, on the whole, a mishmash of Latin, Greek and English. Anatomical terms, for instance, rely heavily on Latin, a virtually dead language that is now only spoken by a handful of clerics, but which used to be the language of scientists. If today’s students’ were lucky enough to have Latin as their first language, then anatomy would be alarmingly easy to learn. After all, femur is simply Latin for thigh, and maxilla is simply Latin for cheek. So if only you spoke Latin, everything in anatomy would be called by simple, easy and obvious names.

Here’s a few more anatomical terms.

·         At the base of the skull is a large hole through which the spinal cord exits. This hole is called the foramen magnum. If only your first language was Latin, because then you’d be calling it “the big hole.” (Foramen is Latin for hole, and magnum is Latin for big.)

·         The large vein that drains blood from the lower half of the body back to the heart is called the inferior vena cava. If you spoke Latin you’d be calling this vital vessel “the lower hollow vein.” (Inferior=lower; vena=vein; cava=hollow.)

·         The hip bone is formally called the os coxa, or coxal bone. You guessed it, os coxa is Latin for hip bone. (Os=bone; coxa=hip.) Interestingly, the hip bone was formerly called the innominate bone. This again is Latin, meaning “bone without a name.” Why give it a name, if the name is going to mean “doesn’t have a name?”

·         For about two weeks out of a typical four week cycle, a the ovary of a fertile woman contains a microscopic yellow structure called the corpus luteum. Corpus is generally translated from Latin as meaning body, but it doesn’t so much mean body as in a dead body, but body as in thing. Corpus luteum, then, could be loosely translated as yellow thing. (Luteum=yellow). It’s easy to imagine the first person to look down a microscope at the ovary exclaiming “look at the yellow thing!”

·         The hippocampus of the brain takes its name from the Latin word for seahorse, because of its remarkable resemblance to the seahorse, a type of fish. The hippocampus is one of the first areas of the brain to deteriorate during the course of Alzheimer’s disease, resulting in the memory loss and disorientation that is characteristic of the disease.

·         In anatomy, the fingers and thumb are called digits, a Latin term. It is interesting that we also use the word digit to refer to the numbers zero to nine – but after all, where do we learn to count but on our fingers and thumbs?  

·         The face contains a muscle known formally as levator labii superioris alaeque nasi. This anatomical mouthful is the nemesis of many a medical and science student, but again, a Latin speaker would find the name charmingly simple and illuminating; literally it means ‘lifter of the upper lip and wing of the nose’, which absolutely describes what it does. By the way, this is the longest muscle name of any muscle in any animal. The muscle itself dilates the nostril and lifts the upper lip, enabling its owner to snarl, and is sometimes endearingly nicknamed “the Elvis muscle.”

·         Surrounding the brain are three layers of tissue called meninges. The name of the outermost layer, the dura mater, translates literally from the Latin as “tough mother.” You can probably see the connection between the Latin word “dura” and certain English words, such as durable, which have a similar meaning to “tough.” If you think you’re mother is being unreasonable, maybe you should call her a ‘dura mater.’

·         Beyond the lower terminus of the spinal cord is a group of spinal nerves that together appeared similar to a horse’s tail to the person who named it the ‘cauda equina.’ (cauda=tail; equine=horse. Note the similarity of the Latin word for horse to English words such as ‘equestrian.’)

·         The duodenum, the first part of the small intestine, was originally called the intestinum duodenum digitorum, from the Latin for ‘intestine of twelve fingerbreaths’ (duodenum=twelve). This name is a puzzle, given that the duodenum, at about thirty centimetres, is about twelve inches long, certainly more than twelve fingerbreaths (unless Latin speakers have massively enlarged fingers.)

·         The vas deferens, literally from the Latin ‘the vessel that brings’, is a tube that transports sperm during their rapid departure from the male body. A remarkably simple name if Latin is your language.

·         In the ear are three tiny ear bones, or ossicles, named the malleus, incus and stapes. Malleus, as can be imagined by its similarity to the word mallet, is Latin for hammer, and indeed the bone is reminiscent of a hammer. The three ear bones are often referred to as the hammer, anvil and strirrup by people outside the realm of science.

·         Placenta is the Latin word for cake, and this word is used by anatomists to describe the temporary organ that supplies oxygen and nutrients to the unborn child. Indeed, its shape is like a flat, round cake, and incredibly, some people choose to eat it after it is delivered some twenty minutes after the birth of the child.

·         Arbor vitae, literally ‘tree of life’ describes the shape of the white matter in the cerebellum of the brain. Its branching shape reminds one of the branches of a tree. (If you already knew that trees are planted on Arbor day, or that most monkeys are arboreal, you’ll know that arbor means tree.)

·         The vagus nerve, originating from the lowest parts of the brain, has branches that wander throughout the chest and abdomen, carrying nerve impulses to organs as varied as the heart, lungs and intestines. It’s name is Latin, meaning wanderer, and from this same Latin word we get English words like vagabond and vagrant.

·         Of course, some names make no sense when compared to Latin. Anus is Latin for ‘old woman.’ It is hard indeed to imagine a connection between the anatomical structure and its Latin equivalent.

Not all anatomical terms derive from Latin. Some have Greek origins.

·         The deltoid muscle of the shoulder is so named because its triangular shape reminded scholars of the Greek letter delta, also a triangle.

·         The hyoid bone in the neck, to which the tongue is anchored, is so named because its shape is similar to the Greek letter upsilon, which is similar to our U. It is noteworthy that the hyoid bone is the only bone in the human body that does not articulate with any other bone.

·         Remember the mythical Greek god Atlas, who supports the whole Earth on his shoulders? After him is named the uppermost vertebra, which supports the ‘globe’ of the head.

Mike the Headless Rooster and The Brainstem

Mike the Headless Rooster

The brains of humans and other animals are divided into different areas responsible for different functions. In humans and other mammals, the three basic areas of the brain are

·         The cerebrum, the large upper part of the brain that is responsible for all voluntary and conscious activities, such as voluntary movement, sensations such as sight, hearing and touch, intellect and logic, memory, the voluntary portion of emotions, language and so on. The cerebrum is particularly large in humans and other primates.

·         The cerebellum, a smaller highly folded lump of brain at the back of the cranium, which is responsible for involuntary control of balance and coordination.

·         The brainstem, which is responsible for the control of life processes such as heartbeat, breathing and digestion.

Only the brainstem is absolutely essential for life. Destruction of the brainstem removes the brain’s ability to control heartbeat and its ability to stimulate breathing. On the other hand, damage to the cerebrum, for instance due to trauma or a stroke, may interfere with memory, movement or sensation, but does not have to be lethal. Similarly, damage to the cerebellum, be it from trauma, alcoholism or other, may interfere with the ability to walk, run or ride a bicycle, but again is not fatal.

The fact that a body can survive with only the brainstem intact is witnessed by the tragic condition called anencephaly. A fetus that develops with anencephaly develops without a cerebrum. Many of these fetuses miscarry before term, and of those that survive pregnancy most are stillborn, but some survive to full term and are born alive. These children, missing the part of the brain responsible for conscious thought, can never be considered fully alive, but in a technical sense they are living, because their hearts beat and they breathe, all because their brainstem is intact. These children, if they can correctly be called children, eventually succumb, although anencephalic infants have survived for up to several years. It is interesting to note that these children can also breast feed, indicating that these functions are also unconscious activities controlled by the brainstem.

This leads us to Mike the Headless Rooster. Mike, the property of farmer Lloyd Olsen from Colorado in the USA, was chosen to be the centerpiece of the dinner table on September 10, 1945. Lloyd’s mother-in-law was visiting and Lloyd, knowing that his mother-in-law was partial to the neck of the bird, chose to sever Mike’s neck as close to Mike’s head as possible. Inadvertently, the axe severed Mike between the brainstem and the rest of the brain, leaving the brainstem still attached to the spinal cord within the headless body. Although it is not recorded exactly what happened in the minutes that followed, what we can infer is that Mike’s body did not “die”. Of course, Mike’s body was no longer capable of conscious thought, but having a brainstem, breathing continued, albeit through the newly-severed trachea opening in the neck.

It is remarkable what Mike’s body was capable of doing, even when the upper parts of the brain were no longer present. Mike could walk (having no eyes, he walked aimlessly), flap his wings and even peck blindly at the ground. Mike could even be seen to ‘sleep’ by tucking his phantom head under his wing. All these functions are controlled by the brainstem and spinal cord, and removal of the head poses no barrier.

Decapitated roosters are known to run around the farmyard for several minutes before succumbing to blood loss. The reason that Mike did not bleed to death can only be guessed at. Perhaps blood clots in the major arteries of the neck prevented exsanguination.

When it became apparent to Lloyd that Mike’s headless body would not die, Mike was taken on tour. He toured the United States for 18 months. Lloyd fed Mike by using a syringe to squirt liquid food into his open oesophagus in his neck. It was also necessary for his owner to periodically clear Mike’s trachea, to prevent the buildup of mucus. Unfortunately one day this was not done and Mike asphyxiated, ending Mike’s career as a celebrity.

Others have tried since then to replicate the Mike experience, but without success.

Robert Wadlow and Growth Hormone

Hormones are chemicals that control a variety of life processes, such as reproduction, growth and metabolism, and their usefulness have made them universal among plants and animals. In humans and other animals, hormones are made by organs called endocrine glands. A well known example is the male sex-hormone testosterone, released by the testes, which stimulates the changes that occur as a boy develops into a man, such as muscle development, beard growth and the male sex-drive. Similarly, the ovaries of a woman release oestrogen, which stimulates the changes that occur as a girl becomes a woman, such as breast development and widening of the hips. The hormone adrenalin, released from the adrenal glands above the kidneys when we perceive a threat to our safety, causes the flight-or-fight response, as set of changes that increases our ability to resist or flee from danger, such as an increase in heart rate, a widening of the airways and increased mental alertness.

In the centre of the head, at the base of the brain, is a pea-sized organ that releases at least eight hormones. This organ, the pituitary gland, is sometimes called the ‘master endocrine organ’ because it releases hormones that control hormone release by other glands. For instance, the pituitary gland releases TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) which stimulates the thyroid gland in the neck to release its own hormones.

Most of the hormones from the pituitary gland have fairly obvious names, none more-so than Growth Hormone. Someone with a deficit in Growth Hormone will be short, and if short enough, a dwarf. Indeed, someone who is pathologically short due to a deficit in Growth Hormone is called a pituitary dwarf. Similarly, the more Growth Hormone a person releases during the childhood and adolescence, the taller that person will be. Excessive Growth Hormone before adulthood will result in a giant, that is, a person with gigantism. The most common cause of excessive Growth Hormone release is a tumour of the pituitary, and the most dramatic demonstration of this phenomenon was Robert Pershing Wadlow.

Robert Wadlow was born in 1918 in Alton, Illinois, in the United States of America, the oldest of five children. His length at birth was not recorded, but a healthy weight of 3.8 kilograms indicates he was a normal-sized baby; however a pituitary gland tumour saw vast quantities of Growth Hormone released into Robert’s blood. Carried by the blood every corner of his body, the Growth Hormone over-stimulated growth, causing Robert to develop into anything but an ordinary child. By the delicate age of four Robert was already 163 cm tall, as high as many adults. His phenomenal production of Growth Hormone continued unabated, so that by age 8 he had reached 188 cm, making him taller than almost all adults. At age 13 his height of 224 cm made him the tallest boy-scout in the world. At age 18 and 254 cm, Robert was still growing. The fact that he continued to grow beyond this age indicates that the growth plates at the ends of Robert’s bones did not seal as they do in other men of this age.  

Robert was a friendly young man with many friends in his hometown. An extant photograph shows Robert posing with what may have been his class on the evening of his school ball. Robert, relegated to the back of the photo, stands head, neck, shoulders and chest above his contemporaries. It may have been around the same time, in about 1936, that Robert toured the United States with the famous Ringling Brother’s Circus, despite fiercely resenting the label of ‘freak’. Robert also appeared to crowds on behalf of the Brown Shoe Company, who outfitted his size 37AA shoes, which would have otherwise cost him $100 a pair, an enormous sum of money at the time. Despite the enormous and often unwanted attention that his height attracted, Robert remained good-humoured, saying that he “overlooked” people who stared at him. Robert’s stature peaked at age 22 at 272 cm, a height confirmed by Washington University. Although legends abound of people who were taller than this, Robert remains the tallest person ever whose height was confirmed by medical science.

Unfortunately, excess Growth Hormone brings a variety of medical problems, some potentially fatal. Growth Hormone increases blood glucose levels, and abnormally high levels result in diabetes. Although it is not recorded, it is likely that Robert had, or would have developed, diabetes, in an era when the disease was life-threatening. Indeed, diabetes may have been the reason Robert lost sensation in his feet, a fact that is recorded. Other medical problems associated with excessive Growth Hormone production include an enlarged heart, heart failure and kidney failure, and for this reason giants did not live to be elderly in the past. Excess Growth Hormone also brings characteristic changes to the face and voice, the latter of which is evident in a recording of Robert’s voice

that still exists. Also common among giants are problems with the legs, and in his latter years Robert walked with the help of a cane and braces. An ill-fitting leg brace caused a blister on his ankle, and Robert was unaware of the lesion because of his loss of feeling in his feet. This blister became infected, leading eventually to septicaemia, or blood poisoning, which took Robert’s life at the age of 22. Robert was still growing at the end of his life, and would undoubtedly have surpassed 274cm, or nine feet in the Imperial System, making him as tall as the mythical Goliath of the Bible.

Robert was a giant in death as well as life. His enormous coffin was carried by twelve pallbearers, and after a funeral attended by 40,000 people, Robert’s coffin was interred under a layer of concrete to assuage his mother’s fear that Robert’s remains would become a medical curiosity. A life-size statue of Robert stands in his hometown.

Robert most likely had a benign tumour called a pituitary adenoma, and his pituitary would have been far larger than pea-sized. Had he lived in more recent times, Robert’s life would have been far less extraordinary. A pituitary adenoma can now be diagnosed and surgically excised, putting an end to uncontrolled growth. The infection caused by Robert’s badly-adjusted leg brace could now be easily cured with antibiotics. Sadly for Robert, pituitary surgery and antibiotics were not an option in the era in which he lived. Had they been available, Robert may still be alive, living out his twilight years reminiscing about his youth in Alton.