ABSTRACT
Throughout his career, Linnaeus continually paid tribute to the importance of nomenclatural names and descriptions. This is why he included a glossary of terms in almost every edition of his Systema Naturæ from 1735 onwards. Almost all of the students who matriculated at the University of Edinburgh’s Medical School during the Enlightenment could read Latin. Since lectures were given in Latin until the middle of the century, the scientific names assigned by classical authors were quite authoritative. A second medical source for mineralogical vocabulary in Edinburgh’s Medical School was botany, particularly Linnaeus’ Systema naturae and Philosophia botanica. Even though Linnaeus’ botanical system was initially opposed by several members of the medical faculty, particularly Charles Alston, its utility had become accepted by the mid-1760s. In addition, almost every mineralogical classification system developed in Scotland during the eighteenth century was offered by a naturalist who at some point had received a medical education and a good working knowledge of chemistry.
