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GLOSSARY OF TJiOHNICAL. TEKMS AND PHKASES. 301

Prophylaxis. Preventive medicine. Oral prophylaxis: Preventive measures
against diseases of the mouth.
Proximal. Latin; proximus, near; propior, nearer; propious, next or nearest.
Note. This is the oldest fonn of the word in the Latin. In use in the Latin, proprius became
obsolete; in time the word went through many changes and proximns was used as the superlative
adjective, moaning nearest — next in line before or after. But in following the word through the
time of the active use of the Latin language, we find it used in a variety of subjects, as: Time,
next day, next month, or next year. Relationship, next of kin, next neighbor. Of things, next house.
Of a series, the next preceding or following, etc. Quotations from Harpers' Latin Dictionary. Proxi-
mus: of place, nearer, nigher; of time, nearer, later, more recent; of relationship, nearer, more
nearly related ; of resemblance, more nearly resembling, more like ; of relation or connection, more
nearly related, of greater import, closer, more intimate.
In later composition. Proximus: The nearest, next, one's nearest neighbor, close by, next door.
the previous, the the next, the following, ensuing time,
The next preceding or following ; last ; ;
recently, last of all, next day, ne.xt month, next year, etc.
Webster defines proximal thus: "Toward or nearest, as to a body or center of motion or depend-
cnce. Proximate. (Biol.) (a) Situated near the point of attachment or origin; as the proximal
part of a limb, twig or leaf, (b) Of or pertaining to that which is proximal ; as the proximal bones
of a limb. Opposed to distal."
Dentistry: That surface of a tooth that is toward, nearest, or in contact with
another tooth to the mesial or distal as the teeth are arranged in the arch.
Note. The word proximal has been much used in anatomy and botany as the opposite of distal,
or as next to a thing understood ; as the central body, or trunk. The proximal end of a bone is that
nearest the central line of the body. The distal end, that which is farthest from the central line of
the bodv. In botany, it is used in a similar sense, the portion of the limb of a tree nearest the
trunk is' the proximal portion. It is used in the same manner in the description of twigs and leaves.
It is also used in the adverbial form (proximally) to express direction along a limb, twig or leaf.
This meaning has been acquired in recent time and is not quite in harmony with the Latin use of the
adjectives of proximarc, near to or next to anything or object preceding or following. for nammg
John Tomes gave us the word mesial as the opposite to distal instead of proximal
surfaces of the teeth. In this use, mesial designates the surface of a tooth toward the median line,
ex-perienced by many
and distal the surface farthest from the median line. Much difficulty was
persons in the use of these words until the definition of their meaning, when applied to the surfaces
of the teeth, was extended by the additional words italicized in the following definition. By mesial
is meant those surfaces of the teeth which, as Ihey stand in the arch, and following its curve, are
toward the median line. This seemed satisfactory and the use of the words, mesial and distal, in
place of proximal and distal, has become fully established. But there was a real necessity for a word
that would designate collectively the surfaces defined as mesial and distal and the usage of many
persons in the dental profession has clung tenaciously to the term proximal, as meaning next, or next
to, which is really its Latin signification, in spite of the fact that it has been used in a special
sense in biology as next to the central part or point of origin, understood, but generally not men-
tioned except in definitions. In dentistry its use is nearer the original Latin meaning of the words
from which the recent English adjective form has been derived.
Harris, in his writing, seems to have used proximal, proximate, appro.ximate, approach, approach-
ing, etc., in phrases describing proximal surfaces, but evidently did not regard any of these as assuming
the force of nomenclature words, for he did not Include any of them in his dictionary of terms.
In the literature pertaining to this, articles will be foimd in the Dental Cosmos, 1880, page 84
and page 139; 1890, page 325; which show in part one of the reasons for the confusion that still
exists because of the introduction of the awkward term, approximal. Personally, I made objection
then to the use of this term, foreseeing that it would give rise to much difficulty in compounding
terms which were sure to come with advances in dental nomenclature. In conversation with Dr.
James W. WTiite, who was then editor of the Dental Cosmos, I obtained the history of this effort to
substitute the word approximal. After a study of this. Dr. White decided to favor this word and
applied to several persons who were then engaged in the revision of dictionaries, asking that the
word be in.serted with a definition he had written. This was not granted, because there was no litera-
ture showing the use of the word. Dr. White then wrote one or more articles using the word, caused
them to be printed and presented them as evidence of its use in the literature. In this way he suc-
ceeded in having it inserted in Thomas' Medical Dictionary. It seems not to have been placed in other
dictionaries. Dr. White should be credited with an earnest endeavor to Improve dental nomenclature.
I still think his choice of this word unfortunate.
•The word is obnoxious because of the addition of the unnecessary syllable, ap, and particularly
so in such compounds as interproximal gum tissue, interapproximal becomes cumbersome. "The fact is,
many in the profession have held to the use of the word, proximal, in spite of every effort to displace
it. I understood the full meaning of the incongruity of the use of the word proximal after its use
in a changed signification from the Latin proximus, from next in line before or after, to next to the
central tnmk. I expressed this clearly in my report on dental nomenclature to the Columbian Dental
Congress in 1893, and I continued the use of the word proximate, which had formerly been used by
the Dental Cosmos. The editor of the Dental Cosmos, after making this choice, in editing articles
for its pages changed all words used by writers and speakers to designate these surfaces to approximal.
Many others have supported this effort, and yet the word proximal has not been displaced. This evi-
dent and persistent disposition of the dental profession to use the word, proximal, renders it the better
word in spite of its use in a different sense from the original Latin adjective in biology. The boot-
black makes a noun out of a verb — " Have a shine, sir," and the philologist must submit. Therefore,
in this book the word proximal has been used.
ProximaI/ CAVITIES. Cavities beginning in the proximal surfaces of the teeth.
is used only when
As both mesial and distal cavities are included under this term, it
it is intended to include mesial and distal cavities collectively, or when the position,
mesial or distal, is not determined, or mentioned; as proximal cavities in the incisors.