Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Anatomy/Simplifying anatomical terminology

Distal
A small query regarding the example, "The radius is further from the body than the humerus." Surely the radius, like every other anatomic feature, is actually part of the body? 109.153.156.71 (talk) 22:18, 28 October 2014 (UTC)
 * ✅--Tom (LT) (talk) 22:12, 29 October 2014 (UTC)
 * On a related point, would "Trimming" perhaps be a preferable section heading here (given that we're looking at stylistic tweaks rather than "Elimination" of content)? 109.153.156.71 (talk) 13:03, 29 October 2014 (UTC)
 * I prefer 'elimination' even though I agree the 'elimination' advocated for by the essay is not as broad-sweeping as the word conjures up. In my mind substitution/elimination go together. Plus, I am trying to suggest the removal of content, rather than copyediting (which 'trimming' suggests to me), is key in some circumstances. --Tom (LT) (talk) 22:12, 29 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Yup, that makes sense to me. I think you're right that the questions aren't as straightforward as they may seem to some. For example, it's always going to be simpler for a writer to use the usual proximal/distal shorthand than to craft a description for the general reader (which, of course, is what we want to do here). So I'm really supportive of this helpful essay. 109.153.156.71 (talk) 08:45, 30 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Still not there, I'm afraid. It's now: "The radius is distal (further from the centre of the body) to the humerus (funny bone)" can be written as"The radius is further from the shoulder than the humerus" - but the idea of "further from the centre of the body" will very often need to kept in some way to make sense. Obviously in this little example there is no context. Or supply a ranges of examples. "Torso" might sometimes be of use, or is that not very accessible itself? Wiki CRUK John (talk) 11:07, 31 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks. It's hard to come up with an example off the top of my head to illustrate simplifying without sounding silly. I've replaced the example with something I hope is more reasonable. --Tom (LT) (talk) 21:43, 31 October 2014 (UTC)