Pure and Applied Chemistry

Spiro ring systems have two or more rings linked by one common atom. Several different methods are used to name such systems. Rules A-41, A-43, B-10 and B-12 (Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry, 1979) describe the basics of how to name these compounds. The alternative methods in rules A-42 and B-11 are abandoned.

This document describes the nomenclature in greater detail and extends it to cover branched polyspiro systems and compounds where three rings have one common spiro atom. A new notation, based on the von Baeyer method of naming spiro systems where all components are monocyclic, allows both unbranched and branched polyspiro systems to be named without ambiguity. It also enables the names to be readily interpreted.