Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31952/amha.24.1.1
On the history of the terms Substantia alba and Substantia grisea and other terms for coloured brain substances
František Šimon
; Department of Classical Languages, Faculty of Arts, P. J. Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia
*
Ema Pavľáková
; Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
Mária Šibalová
; Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This study explores the historical development of neuroanatomical terms that describe coloured brain substances, particularly substantia alba (white matter) and substantia grisea (grey matter), from a terminological perspective. Through a systematic review of major anatomical sources from antiquity to the early modern period, it traces how colour descriptors entered anatomical terminology and gradually came to denote distinct brain structures. While ancient anatomy lacked colour-based distinctions in brain anatomy, Arabic and Salernitan traditions introduced the idea of the brain being white. The earliest known use of the phrase substantia alba appears in a 1502 printed version of a medieval pseudo-Galenic text De anatomia vivorum. Vesalius (1543) was the first to distinguish brain matter by colour, introducing terms corresponding to substantia alba and an early version of substantia grisea. By the late 18th century, multiple colour-based terms had been introduced to reflect distinct brain structures. Despite evolving anatomical knowledge, colour descriptors remained stable linguistic signs, often preceding or outlasting conceptual shifts.
Keywords
anatomical nomenclature; brain anatomy; colour terminology
Hrčak ID:
351432
URI
Publication date:
21.9.2026.
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