Abstract
The word “sciatica” is associated with the “sciatic nerve,” which is related to the anatomic region of the hip. The name “hip” refers to “ischia/ischiaticus” in Latin. The suffix “ica” indicates a disability of the “ischia.” With time, the vowel “i” was deleted in the everyday language so that only the word “sciatica” remains. “Ischia” derives also from the antique Greek ισχία and “ischiadikos.” The oldest use of the term “ischiacos” probably dates back to the fifth-century BC by the Hellenic Hippocrates of Kos [460–377 BC] (c.f. Chap. 2 about Historical Aspects of Sciatica).
“Language is the source of all misunderstandings”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry [1900–1944, French writer and aviator]
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Akhaddar, A. (2023). Definitions of Sciatica. In: Atlas of Sciatica. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-44984-0_1
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