Pan American Association of Anatomy


The Pan American Association of Anatomy is a public, nonprofit, scientific organization that brings together professionals engaged in the study of Anatomy and related sciences in the American continent.

Origins and objectives

The Pan American Association of Anatomy was created in July 1966 in Mexico City at the 1st Pan American Congress of Anatomy, which 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 during 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 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.
The Government of the Pan American Association of Anatomy consists on the General Assembly, the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee.
There are two counselors or delegates for each American country concerned; one as owner and another alternate.
When the mandate of the President of the Executive Committee is finished, he is named Honorary President of the Association and he automatically joins the Honorary Presidents Committee of the PAA, which works with the Executive Committee.
The headquarters of the congresses vary from one congress to another, but they are always within the Americas and in a rotative form. The designation of the host country is resolved at the General Assembly by a vote of its partners and it is usually held every 3 years.
Since 2013, the Association Executive Committee has been chaired by Prof. Dr. Manuel Arteaga Martínez, from Mexico. The next Pan-American Congress of Anatomy will be held in Peru, 2017; its President is Prof. Dr. Germán Molina Albornoz, from Peru.
The statutes of the Association and the Pan American Congress of Anatomy, adopted by majority vote by the General Assembly of the Association, can be found on the.

Pan American Congress

In 50 years of Association life, 18 congresses have been held, with an interval of 3 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 and health sciences, especially in medicine and dentistry. It involves research, teaching and medical care. In particular, issues related to development anatomy, microscopic anatomy, human anatomy, veterinary anatomy, comparative anatomy, neuroanatomy, neurobiology, radiological anatomy, clinical anatomy, anthropology, biophysics and biochemistry, 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 was held, with the purpose of disseminating the International Morphological Terminology. Educational institutions of medical and other health areas which spoke Spanish and Portuguese used it on a daily basis. Its mentor was Prof. Dr. Rolando Cruz Gutiérrez.
Up today, there have been sixteen symposia: four in Costa Rica, two in Brasil, three in Mexico, four in Chile, two in Peru and one in Nicaragua. In these symposia, participants are divided into groups to work with the anatomical, histological and embryological terminology from the Terminology Committee of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists. 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 the future meetings are planned in other countries.

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:
Headquarters, dates and presidencies: