Polyglot Glossary of Mammalian Dentology

In recent years, the ever-increasing amount of research in different specialties of Zoology has resulted in the coinage of many technical names and terms to designate more exactly either new taxonomic groups or newly recognized morphological, physiological, and pathological conditions. Broadly speaking, these new technical words belong in the field of nomenclature, but some authors seeing a rather fundamental difference between technical words applying to taxonomic unite, and technical designations of parts, conditions and functions, are inclined to divide this field of nomenclature, sensu lato, into two subdivisions, namely, nomenclature, sensu restricto, and terminology.The writer and her co-workers in the Division of Zoology have been preparing Keys to those genera of mammals that act as hosts of parasites, for inclusion in the Index Catalogue of Medical and Veterinary Zoology. The diagnoses of many of these genera are based upon the teeth and it is apparent that dental terms must play a prominent part in the formulation of the Keys. Unfortunately, we have found that the terminology of mammalian teeth, however clear it may be to specialists in mammalogy, is extremely confusing to workers in other fields. As the work progressed, it became increasingly clear that the numerous terms involved, in English and in foreign languages, must be correlated and systematized - an assignment which was undertaken by the writer and which is represented by the present paper. If experience at our Laboratory be any guide, this glossary should prove to be of assistance to other workers in Zoology.