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Chinese characters carry special anatomical connotations
Xin Xia1, Lei Li1, Jianliang Jin1
1Department of Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
Abstract:
In the domain of anatomy, some Chinese characters in anatomical terms possess distinctive morphological significance. Chinese characters evolved from pictographic characters, with some of these pictographs being created by ancient people based on their own body structure. This implies that the comprehension and depiction of the human body structure have been integral since the inception of Chinese characters, and this knowledge has been passed down and developed through the continued inheritance of Chinese characters. Even today, certain characters retain the appearance to reflect the shape of the human body structure. By examining the characters related to vertebrae, cranial fontanel and heart, we can find the unique and enduring link between Chinese characters and the fields of anatomy as well as Chinese traditional medicine.
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