The man behind the eponym. Angioendotheliomatosis proliferans systemisata (Tappeiner-Pfleger disease). A short description of the disease and biographical notes on the eponyms.
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The recent publication of Neurological Eponyms by Peter Koehler and colleagues has revived the interest in neurological eponyms and raised important questions about their use. Many investigators have contributed to the body of knowledge that defines the specialty of neurology. We honor them by associating their names with neurological diseases. The history of neurological eponyms provides us with an opportunity to reexamine the important question of who gets the credit. Additional issues have surfaced including why certain eponyms tend to stick in the literature and others disappear, as well as the important realization that lengthy modern descriptions may require name eponyms for simplification. Eponyms can be confusing as to whether they refer to a disease or a syndrome and this confusion can impact the diagnosis and treatment of patients. There is an inevitable evolution of certain eponyms as our understanding of entities expands. This paper provides an overview of neurological eponyms with the explanation of the potential reasons why names were associated with neurological diseases. These included first case reports, relating isolated cases, years of observation, defining neuroanatomy, physician sufferer, new physical examination maneuvers, academic climate, the advent of a new procedure, fame, and competition amongst investigators. Important issues have surfaced regarding sharing credit amongst investigators, name priority, crediting the wrong investigator, and lack of a defined system to award credit. Since eponym use is based on a peer dependent system, each neurologist must make a more critical appraisal of who gets the credit and understand the differences between diseases and syndromes in order to better preserve neurological history.
In order to get an impression on the opinion of the use of neurological eponyms we sent questionnaires on 205 eponyms to 850 members of the Netherlands Association for Neurology. The responses by 256 (30%) were analyzed. A positive correlation was found between age and the knowledge of eponyms. The best known eponyms belong to category II (tests and manoeuvres). Surprisingly, many of the responding colleagues did not prefer descriptive terms to eponyms: 57% of the eponyms were preferred by more than 50% of the respondents.
Eponyms are derived from the name of a person. Eponymic verbs are rare compared to eponymic nouns and adjectives. The German Duden dictionary lists eponymic derivatives from the following persons: Amerigo (Vespucci), Bal(1)horn, Beckmesser, Boycott, Faraday, Galvani, Guillotin, Lumbeck, Lynch, Mendel, Morse, Pasteur und Roentgen. Only the verb "to roentgen" is formally identical to the name Roentgen. A computerized analysis of a newspaper that represents standard German (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung from January 1, 1993 through March 7, 1995) proves that "to roentgen" (19x) ranges five in frequency of eponymic verbs of contemporary German-behind to boycott (363x), to ballhornize (33x), to lynch (30x), to americanize (29x).
From a historic point of view, epilepsy and its eponyms were in an ontogenetic symbiosis throughout their history. Epilepsy is a disease with a history of eponyms presenting the frame of mind of both streetwise as well as skilled "authors" about its origin and nature. From ancient times the names for epilepsy, archetypal Hippocratic disease, just as rich in number as varied in their implication, reflected the local folkways of thinking. In this article we briefly presented more than 50 eponyms and patrons of epilepsy. As the source of information we used both the apocryphal, canonical and hagiographic as well as heretic literature, legends and iconography from the Middle Ages of domestic and foreign origin. Pre- and post-Hippocratic era, apart from stemming from the oldest written medical sources, point to the position that the disease had organic origin located in the brain. The period of Rome adopted the attitudes set by Galen which remained en vogue throughout the emerging Middle Ages and Renaissance. These eras generated new eponyms which reflected a downfall in the manor, stating that the disease is the consequence of supernatural forces. In the "Age of darkness" eponyms for epilepsy reflected more the relation of men to the Nature than to the disease or a sick man; this is evidenced through the generation of number of patrons for the disease. The most famous patron of patients with epilepsy was St. Valentine (after conversion from pagandom he died in Rome as a martyr, c. 270). He was allotted a patronage either due to the phonic resemblance of his name with the (past participle of the) verb "fallen"-as Martin Luther claimed, or due to a cure of epilepsy of the son of a Roman rhetor who built for him a chapel in which he continued to cure the sick. The emergence of a flamboyant personality of Paracelsus on the historic scene of the XVI century represents a less successful attempt to revoke the way of thinking set by the old Greek doctors; however, it brought about the precipitous decay of attitudes that started with Romans and inaugurated the way of thinking characteristic of Renaissance and the ages thereafter. Serbian literature of the Middle Age was strongly impacted by influences that fanned from Italy (Salerno) and south France (Montpellier), reflecting the attitudes of medical schools and universities prevailing at that time Europe. The name [symbol: see text] from Hilandar Medical Codex No 517 (XV-XVI century) is obviously taken from Byzantine medicine, which was founded on the works of Hippocrates, Galen and Dioscurides. It came down to us through the Serbian folk Byzantine codices named "latrosophia of Hilandar", preserved mostly from the author Michail Pselos (XI century). On the other hand, the name [symbol: see text] or morbus magnus, reflects its Roman origin. The name [symbol: see text] meaning fainting, loss of consciousness or syncope, stems from the same source. The name [symbol: see text] designated epileptic disease in Serbian monks, monasteries probably being the only niche where epileptics could find refuge. Children's epilepsy or convulsions are expressed as [symbol: see text] No mention is found of epileptic status except for the notion [symbol: see text] meaning "to be without consciousness for a longer period of time'; it does not, however, refer directly to epilepsy or convulsions. It is worthy noting that already in the XIV century Serbs had their medical literature translated to their own language, and were the only one of all Slavic peoples that did so. Nevertheless, both apocryphal and canonical, as well as consecrated medicine were based on magic, astrology and occultism. The magic formulas used in Middle Age Serbia for the cure of epileptics as well as sick in general, were basically irrational; still, as a trace of its descension they contained unintelligible words of the eastern origin (Greek, Persian or Jewish). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)
Because no one has ever composed a glossary of psychiatry's numerous eponyms, the author collected eponymous signs and syndromes for a behavioral lexicon. Eponyms are included if they recall a real person, if they have special relevance to psychiatry, and if they describe an abnormal symptom or syndrome that we consider clinically important today, even if American physicians no longer favor the eponym. The author used MEDLINE and Campbell's Psychiatric Dictionary to locate candidates for the glossary. A brief definition and suggested reference accompany each entry.
BACKGROUND: Chronic aortic regurgitation can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. For more than a century, numerous eponymous signs of aortic regurgitation have been described in textbooks and the literature. PURPOSE: To compare current textbook content with the peer-reviewed literature on the eponymous signs of aortic regurgitation and to assess the role of these signs in clinical practice. DATA SOURCES: 11 textbooks, MEDLINE (1966 through October 2002), and bibliographies of textbooks and relevant papers. STUDY SELECTION: English-language reports that were related to the properties of a sign on physical examination, incorporated more than 10 adults, and did not involve prosthetic heart valves or acute aortic regurgitation. DATA EXTRACTION: Three investigators independently analyzed relevant textbook extracts and 27 reports, using predetermined qualitative review criteria. Data relating to diagnostic accuracy and properties of the index test were also extracted. DATA SYNTHESIS: Twelve eponymous signs were described as having varying degrees of importance by textbook authors. Only the Austin Flint murmur, the Corrigan pulse, the Duroziez sign, and the Hill sign had sufficient original literature for detailed review. Most reports were low quality, with varying sensitivities for all signs. Except for the Hill sign, specificity tended to be poor. Evidence for the Hill sign also suggested a correlation between the popliteal-brachial gradient and aortic regurgitation severity. CONCLUSIONS: Prominent textbook support of the eponymous signs of aortic regurgitation is not matched by the literature. Clinicians and educators should update and improve the evidence for these signs to ensure their relevance in current medical practice.
Use of eponyms and their frequency in anatomical and clinical medical terminologies are compared. In the standard anatomical terminology, use of eponyms in the macroscopic anatomical terms is not allowed. In the clinical terminology, on the other hand, the use of eponyms is very frequent. In conclusion the author presents advantages and disadvantages of the eponym use. (Ref. 7.)
A selected group of men whose eponyms are currently used in biliary tract surgery are described. The eponyms chosen comprise two areas: gross anatomy (Glisson, Wirsung, Santorini, Winslow, Heister, and Vater) and operative anatomy (Kocher, Courvoisier, Morison, Hartmann, Calot, Roux, and Oddi). A brief review of biliary tract disease from antiquity until the 17th century places these men in proper historical sequence. A condensed biographical sketch of each man's life and work is provided and a few closing comments are made about eponyms.
The anatomy of the cochlea, one of the most complicated parts of the inner ear, is associated with numerous eponyms, mostly originating from German anatomists of the 19th century. In addition to the organ of Corti and Reissner's membrane, which are the best known, nine other eponymic anatomic terms are associated with the cochlea: Deiters' cells, Hensen's cells, Hensen's strip, Claudius' cells, Boettscher's cells, Rosenthal's canal, Hardesty's membrane, Huschke's teeth, and Nuel's space. All of these anatomic eponyms are described, with their original references.
Eponym (epó-nim) [Greek eponymos, named after] The name of a disease, structure, operation, or procedure, derived from the name of the person who discovered or described it first. Argot (äŕgõ) [French origin "in thieves' jargon"] The specialized vocabulary and idioms of those in the same work. Eponyms are commonly used in orthopaedics. Yet the individual's name and history often remain obscure or unknown to the user. The recognition and appropriate use of the eponymic terms become more difficult as the terminology falls into disuse. It is hoped that this report will serve as a reference and a resource and will preserve orthopaedic history.
Numerous ophthalmic eponyms are associated with the Mayo Clinic. Some of the terms, such as Hollenhorst plaque and Kearns-Sayre syndrome, are well known, whereas others are relatively cryptic or parochial. Although eponyms have their detractors, the designations will likely appear in the medical lexicon for many years to come.
This study was performed to investigate the value of eponyms of fractures amongst orthopaedic/casualty trainees. Our results show eponyms are not favoured.
Numerous ophthalmic eponyms are associated with the Mayo Clinic. Some of the terms, such as "Hollenhorst plaque" and "Kearns-Sayre syndrome," are well known, whereas others are relatively obscure. Although eponyms have their detractors, the designations likely will appear in the medical lexicon for many more years.
Man's quest for recognition has not escaped the physician, whose contributions to medicine perpetuate his name in print. It is a final grasp for professional immortality, which for men like Imhotep and Hippocrates, has prevailed for millennia. This fervor was particularly evident in the latter 19th century, which created a flurry of eponyms, often two or more physicians publishing the same clinical observation. This article reviews the eponym epidemic as it relates to lumbar radiculopathy.
To understand eponymous verb phrases such as "do a John Travolta," readers cannot merely select a sense out of a mental lexicon (sense selection). They must create new senses (sense creation) by retrieving salient information from memory. We conducted two experiments to test the hypothesis that these processes of memory retrieval parallel those used for ordinary lexical ambiguities. To prepare for Experiment 1, we gathered readers' interpretations of eponymous verb phrases like "do a John Travolta" to establish dominant and subordinate interpretations. We then wrote story contexts that biased comprehension toward one or the other interpretation. In Experiment 1, paraphrase judgment times were used to demonstrate that dominant meanings are privileged in the sense that they are accessible even when the story creates a subordinate bias. In Experiment 2, this privilege faded somewhat when there was a delay before the paraphrase judgment. We discuss the results with respect to the distinction between sense selection and sense creation.
Fractures at the distal end of the radius are quite common. So, these fractures are well known to represent consequences of industrial accidents leading to temporary unfitness for work, too. Eponym descriptions of fractures may mislead authors and readers as well if used in a non-uniform way in medical literature. Using the original articles of the first describing authors a clear distinction of eponyms concerning fractures near to the wrist joint is given. The authors of this feature report of the clinical experience in treatment and results of distal radius fractures in combination with aspects of expert opinions on these fractures.