Over time, the nomenclature expanded considerably, following the recommendations by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in the recent era.
Unlike the nomenclature that is used in biology or medicine, the chemical nomenclature stays closer to the Czech language and uses Czech pronunciation and inflection rules, but developed its own, very complex, system of morphemes (taken from Greek and Latin), grammar, syntax, punctuation and use of brackets and numerals.
Jan Svatopluk Presl (1791–1849), an all-round natural scientist, proposed a new Czech nomenclature and terminology in the books Lučba čili chemie zkusná (1828–1835) and Nerostopis (1837).
Presl had invented Czech neologisms for most of the then known chemical elements; ten of these, including vodík 'hydrogen', kyslík 'oxygen', uhlík 'carbon', dusík 'nitrogen' and křemík 'silicon', have entered the language.
The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, founded in 1953, took over responsibility for maintenance of the nomenclature and proper implementation of the IUPAC recommendations.