Abstract
Variant anatomy, as an integrate part of the anatomical science, is related to the abnormalities of the human body structure, which differ from the norm determined arbitrary, following the thousand years of the anatomical experience. These abnormalities do not in general interfere with the function of the human body and do not prevailingly manifest as pathological nosological units, but under changed conditions they can worsen the pathological state or even evoke a new one.
The variant anatomy belongs to the basic structure pieces of the skills not only of mere anatomists but also of clinicians, working in fields of both diagnostic techniques and therapeutic interventions. To gain and retain good knowledge of the most frequent and the most clinically relevant anatomical variations a simple, clear and exactly defined nomenclature of these structures is needed.
A list of the items of the variant anatomy, incorporated in the internationally accepted nomenclatures Terminologia Anatomica (1998) and Terminologia Neuroanatomica (2017), is stated and analyzed. The examples of the most common anatomical variations related to its terminology are mentioned and the variant anatomy as a whole and its role in the current anatomy is discussed.