Abominations, freaks and monsters: the history of nomenclature for rare congenital anomalies in the pages of Liječnički vjesnik

Medical terminology is part of a complex process that reflects linguistic and social worldviews, as well as the reach of knowledge about a specific phenomenon. In this article, we presented these aspects using examples from eight cases of rare congenital anomalies, which were featured in articles published in Liječnički vjesnik between 1893 and 1966 and categorized as Nakaze/Monsters in the 1978 Bibliography of Liječnički vjesnik. We examined the changes in this terminology regarding the development of knowledge about the analyzed entities and the relevance of the nomenclature considering the concept of political correctness. As comparative material for tracking the preservation and modification of the analyzed linguistic nomenclature, we used medical dictionaries from the 19th and 20th centuries, general and medical encyclopedias, as well as medical textbooks, lecture notes, and manuals published throughout the 20th century. We highlighted that the terminology authors used for rare congenital anomalies varied from the words “nagrda” (abomination), “nakaza” (freak), and “monstrum” (monster) to Croatized Latin terms “anomalija” (anomaly), “malformacija” (malformation),“abnormalnost” (abnormality), and “deformitet” (deformity). Furthermore, the principles in the linguistic sphere for the aforementioned examples were adopted extremely slowly. The content of this terminology is interwoven with a social heritage permeated by myths and the development of medical knowledge related to the fields of embryology and teratology. It became apparent that, in addition to its primary meaning, the analyzed nomenclature also contains values that influence the formation of consciousness, sometimes shaping communication and procedures in medical practice. Liječnički vjesnik was highlighted as a rich source for interpretation related to the development of professional terminology.