Medical terms referring to color in the domain of ophthalmology

Introduction. The analysis of medical terms describing color in the medical domain of ophthalmology is carried out. Material and methods. The research material comprises Russian medical dictionary (expanded translation of Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 26th edition); English-Russian medical dictionary by M.P. Multanovsky and A. Ivanova; Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary edited by V.N. Yartseva; medical terms referring to color (from Ross. humanit. encyclopedia SL. 2002, vol. III: 403). The colour term formation in clinical terminology is considered based on the textbook “Latin language and fundamentals of medical terminology” by M.N. Chernyavsky. The research methodology involves comparative, typological, statistical and descriptive methods. Results and discussion. The article deals with medical terms of color vision in linguistics. It is revealed that the three pigments (cyanolabe, erythrolabe, chlorolabe) correspond to different color spaces and color vision deficiencies. All colors are traditionally divided into chromatic and achromatic. The conceptual significance of lightness and the chromatic component of color (hue, saturation) in the color space is shown. It is proved that the ophthalmological terms “achromasia” and “achromatopsia” are used to refer to a pathological congenital disorder characterized by a partial or total absence of color vision. In clinical terminology, there are terms that encompass qualitative and quantitative characteristics of a pathological change observed in a particular body part. This characteristic is provided by the initial term element, which originates from Greek adjectives and adverbs. Conclusion. It was found out that medical terms of color vision indicate the following: 1) color space; 2) different shapes; 3) brightness, saturation, and hue.