Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University, Thailand, 10400, Thailand.
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University, Thailand, 10400, Thailand.
BMC Med Educ. 2024 Aug 22;24(1):904. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-05878-1.
Anatomical terms in medical literature have been used with varying meanings, leading to confusion in clinical practice. This study aims to investigate the ambiguity of anatomical terms in clinical dentistry.
Dentists who have undergone specialised training with at least one year of clinical experience were recruited to participate in the study. They were requested to localize specific terms on a skull and provide explanations based on their experience or opinion. All data were recorded, and then descriptive statistics were used for analysis.
Seventy-eight participating dentists gave their consent and were eligible to study. For each anatomical term presented to dentists at least two meanings were provided, with some terms having up to eight interpretations. While most meanings were consistent with medical or dental literature, some responses revealed new interpretations not documented in textbooks.
Dentists expressed anatomical terms with diverse meanings, possibly influenced by their various subspecialties. It is crucial to acknowledge this variability to prevent confusion. Emphasizing the consistent use of anatomical terms among dental professionals in the future is essential.
医学文献中的解剖学术语含义各异，导致临床实践中出现混淆。本研究旨在探讨临床牙科中解剖学术语的模糊性。
招募了经过至少一年临床经验的专业培训的牙医参与研究。要求他们在颅骨上定位特定术语，并根据经验或意见提供解释。所有数据均被记录，并采用描述性统计进行分析。
共有 78 名参与牙医表示同意并符合研究条件。对于每个呈现给牙医的解剖学术语，至少提供了两种含义，有些术语有多达八种解释。虽然大多数含义与医学或牙科文献一致，但有些回答揭示了教科书中未记录的新解释。
牙医对解剖学术语的表达存在多种含义，这可能受到他们不同专业的影响。必须认识到这种可变性以避免混淆。强调未来牙科专业人员一致使用解剖学术语至关重要。
