Pan American Association of Anatomy
Encyclopedia
Pan American Association of Anatomy ( PAA ) is a public, nonprofit, scientific organization that brings together professionals engaged in the study of Anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...

 and related sciences in the area of the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

.

Origins and objectives

The Pan American Association of Anatomy (PAA) was created in July 1966 in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

, where the 1st Pan American Congress of Anatomy was held together with the 3rd National Congress of the Mexican Society of Anatomy. Its mentor was the Prof. Dr. Liberato J. A. Didio.

The need for a Pan American Association of Anatomy was proposed by Prof. Di Dio in the 74th meeting of the American Association of Anatomy held in Chicago, USA, in March 1961.

Its objectives include stimulating the development and improvement of teaching and research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

 of morphological sciences on the American continent, facilitating scientific exchange in all its aspects. Since then and through its meetings, it has spread and updated progress of morphological sciences on the American continent.

Organizational structure

The PAA is a member of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists
International Federation of Associations of Anatomists
The International Federation of Associations of Anatomists is an umbrella scientific organization of national and multinational Anatomy Associations, dedicated to anatomy and biomorphological sciences.-Origins and objectives:In 1903, Prof...

 (IFAA
IFAA
IFAA may refer to:* International Field Archery Association* International Federation of Associations of Anatomists...

).

The Government of the Pan American Association of Anatomy consists on the General Assembly (performed with partners in the Congress), the Board of Directors (composed by advisers or delegates from each country) and the Executive Committee (headed by the President, who is elected by the General Assembly).

There are two counselors or delegates for each American country concerned; one as owner and another alternate.

The President of the Executive Committee when their mandate is finished is named Honorary President of the Association and automatically joins the Honorary Presidents Committee of the PAA, which works with the Executive Committee of the time.

The headquarters of the congresses vary from one congress to another, but always within the Americas and in rotation form. The designation of the host country is resolved at the General Assembly by a vote of its partners and is usually held every 3 years.

In 2010, the Association Executive Committee is chaired by Prof. Dr. Rolando Cruz Gutiérrez, from Costa Rica (2007–2010). The next Pan-American Congress of Anatomy will be held in Temuco, Chile, 25–30 October 2010; its President is Prof. Dr. Mariano del Sol, from Chile.

The statutes of the Association and the Pan American Congress of Anatomy, adopted by majority vote by the General Assembly of the Association, may be found on the.

Pan American Congress

In 43 years of Association life, 16 congresses have been held, with an interval of 3 years (sometimes 2 years) between them. The following countries have hosted at least one congress: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, USA and Venezuela.

The Congress covers various topics of morphological sciences and related sciences that have application to the biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

 and health sciences, especially in medicine and dentistry. It involves research, teaching and medical care. In particular, issues related to development anatomy (embryology
Embryology
Embryology is a science which is about the development of an embryo from the fertilization of the ovum to the fetus stage...

), microscopic anatomy (histology
Histology
Histology is the study of the microscopic anatomy of cells and tissues of plants and animals. It is performed by examining cells and tissues commonly by sectioning and staining; followed by examination under a light microscope or electron microscope...

 and Citology
Cell biology
Cell biology is a scientific discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level...

), human anatomy
Human anatomy
Human anatomy is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen by the naked eye...

, veterinary anatomy, comparative anatomy
Comparative anatomy
Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny .-Description:...

, neuroanatomy
Neuroanatomy
Neuroanatomy is the study of the anatomy and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defined nervous systems, and thus we can begin to speak of...

, neurobiology, radiological anatomy, clinical anatomy
Clinical Anatomy
Clinical Anatomy is a peer-reviewed medical journal that covers anatomy in all its aspects—gross, histologic, developmental, and neurologic—as applied to medical practice...

, anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...

, biophysics
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...

 and biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...

, etc. are discussed.

Symposia Iberian-Latin-American

In 2009, during the 43rd anniversary of the Pan American Association of Anatomy, the 1st Iberian-Latin-American Terminology Symposium (SILAT) was held, with the purpose of disseminating the International Morphological Terminology
International Morphological Terminology
International Morphological Terminology is used by the colleges of medicine and dentistry and other areas of the health sciences. Facilitates communication and exchanges between scientists from different countries of the world and is used daily in the fields of research, teaching and medical...

. Educational institutions of medical and other health areas, speaking Spanish and Portuguese, used it on a daily basis. Its mentor was Prof. Dr. Rolando Cruz Gutiérrez.

To date there were three symposia: two in San José, Costa Rica
San José, Costa Rica
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...

 and one in Lima, Peru. In these symposia, participants are divided into groups, working with the anatomical, histological and embryological terminology from the Terminology Committee
Federative International Committee on Anatomical Terminology
The Federative International Committee on Anatomical Terminology is a groups of expert, who review, analyze and discuss the terms of the morphological structures of the human body...

 (FICAT) of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA). Meetings are held every day. The symposia also develops the presentation of free papers concerning different aspects and considerations of terminology.

These groups of experts review, analyse and discuss the morphological terms; possible errors and defects in the studied structures are also discussed. It was determined that future meetings to be held during the rest of the year 2010 will be in Brazil and Chile and by 2011, meetings are planned in other countries (such as Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, etc.).

Official publications

The PAA has the support of various magazines, which are the official organ of publication, showing summaries of scientific congresses communications and other aspects. They are: International Journal of Morphology, Brazilian Journal of Morphology Sciences, Venezuelan Magazine of Morphological Sciences and Medical Journal of Costa Rica and Central America.

Pan American Congress list

Headquarters, dates and presidencies:
  • I Congress - Mexico City, Mexico – 23–28 July 1966 - chaired by the Prof. Fernando Quiroz Pavia.
  • II Congress - Caracas, Venezuela – 25–31 July 1969 - headed by the Professor Jesús Yerena.
  • III Congress - New Orleans, U.S.A. – 28 March to 1 April 1972 - chaired by the Prof. Liberato J. A. Di Dio.
  • IV Congress. - Montreal, Canada – 17–23 August 1975 - headed by the Professor Sergey Fedoroff.
  • V Congress - São Paulo, Brazil – 2–7 July 1978 - chaired by Prof. Eros Ábranles Erhart.
  • VI Congress - Buenos Aires, Argentina – 6–10 October 1981 - chaired by Prof. José Luis Martinez.
  • VII Congress - Punta del Este, Uruguay – 28 October to 1 November 1984 - headed by the Professor Alfredo Ruiz Liard.
  • VIII Congress - Santiago, Chile – 25–30 October 1987 - chaired by the Prof. Alberto Rodríguez Torres.
  • IX Congress - Trujillo, Peru – 21–27 October 1990 - chaired by the Prof. Marco Aurelio of Iparraguirre.
  • X Congress - San Jose, Costa Rica – 9–15 February 1992 - chaired by the Prof. Rolando Cruz Gutiérrez.
  • XI Congress - Mérida, Venezuela – 8–17 October 1995 - chaired by the Prof. David José Loyo war.
  • XII Congress - São Paulo, Brazil – 13–18 December 1998 - chaired by the Prof. José Carlos Prates.
  • XIII Congress - New Orleans, U.S.A. – 3–6 September 2000 - headed by the Professor Robert D. Yates.
  • XIV Congress - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 24–27 July 2002 - headed by the Professor Maurice Moscovici.
  • XV Congress - Puerto Iguazú, Argentina / Foz Iguaçu, Brazil – 24–28 October 2004 - chaired by the Prof. Ricardo Jorge Losardo.
  • XVI Congress - San José, Costa Rica – 24–28 April 2007 - chaired by the Prof. Rolando Cruz Gutiérrez.

Iberian-Latin-American Symposia list

Headquarters, dates and presidencies:
  • I Symposium - San José, Costa Rica – 13–16 April 2009 - chaired by Prof. Dr. Rolando Cruz Gutiérrez
  • II Symposium - Lima, Perú – 15–18 September 2009 - chaired by Prof. Dr. Germán Molina Albornoz
  • III Symposium - San José, Costa Rica – 26–30 April 2010 - chaired by Prof. Dr. Rolando Cruz Gutiérrez

See also

  • International Morphological Terminology
    International Morphological Terminology
    International Morphological Terminology is used by the colleges of medicine and dentistry and other areas of the health sciences. Facilitates communication and exchanges between scientists from different countries of the world and is used daily in the fields of research, teaching and medical...

  • Iberian Latin American Symposium Terminology
    Iberian Latin American Symposium Terminology
    At the Iberian Latin American Symposia Terminology of anatomy, histology and embryology is studied, analyzes, translates and disseminates international morphological terminology, for it is used daily by educational institutions of medicine and other areas of health, speaking Spanish and...


External links

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