Semantic Features

Abstract

The semantics and etymology of the word’s trepanation, trephine and craniotomy are studied. The term trepanation only means perforating the bone, preferably the skull, and it does not take into consideration the size, technique or purpose for that action. A trephine is a hole on the skull that is made by rotating a cylindrical hollow instrument that has a saw on its free edge, called trephine. The meaning and use of the term trephine raise interesting questions concerning semantics and linguistics. The word trephine is a late word as it appeared in the seventeenth century. The term craniotomy is also a modern word used since the end of the nineteenth century, meaning a surgical intervention that involves making a cranial opening of a large size and with a variable shape, achieved by making one or several burr holes and a linear cut on the bone existing between them. The problem of the translation of medical terms from ancient languages into living languages, any time, is also reviewed.