Methodological Approaches for Anatomical Terminology Research

Abstract

Anatomical terminology research is an important field that seeks to clarify the usage, evolution, and standardization of anatomical terms, thereby promoting consistent scholarly communication in education, research, and clinical practice. Various research approaches, including narrative reviews, systematic reviews, bibliometric studies, and scoping reviews, are used according to the research objectives; however, guidance addressing terminology-specific methodological decisions across different research approaches remains limited. Although scoping reviews are primarily intended to systematically map key concepts, available evidence, and knowledge gaps within a research field, selected methodological elements derived from scoping reviews-including systematic literature searching, explicit eligibility criteria, standardized data extraction, and reporting of the included literature-may be transferable to anatomical terminology research to enhance its transparency, systematicity, and reproducibility. In contrast, bibliometric studies primarily aim to characterize research trends and knowledge structures through quantitative analyses of bibliographic and citation data, and may also be useful for evaluating the frequency and temporal changes in the use of anatomical terms. These approaches are complementary methodologies that should be selected according to the research objectives, while both require transparent reporting of the research process to support transparency and reproducibility. This article discusses the application of methodological elements derived from scoping reviews to anatomical terminology research, outlines their methodological characteristics in relation to bibliometric studies, and provides a conceptual basis for developing methodological considerations and reporting recommendations for anatomical terminology research.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Clinical Anatomy, 2026 · DOI ↗