Vasa vasorum: an old term with new problems.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to describe the origin of the Latin anatomical term vasa vasorum and its role in current medical research and to present examples of grammatical errors in its use.

Methods: Literary searches oriented on the term vasa vasorum were used to identify publications using it in the medical literature from the seventeenth century up to the present.

Results: The Latin term vasa vasorum was introduced by Ludwig in 1739. The vasa vasorum became an important topic in clinical research around the middle of the twentieth century, with implications in angiology, cardiology and cardiosurgery. We report 18 grammatical errors concerning the use of the term vasa vasorum, starting from the year 1959. A similar decline in the correct use of Latin terminology is also evident in other medical research disciplines.

Conclusions: The numerous errors found in the use of Latin terminology in recent medical literature have occurred as a consequence of decreased use of Latin in the medical community. The only way to improve this situation is by improving awareness of international standard anatomical terminology, which is available worldwide in both Latin and English.