ABSTRACT
Jean-Nicolas Marjolin was a 19th century French anatomist and surgeon. Although not strictly speaking a pivotal figure in history of medicine, he deserves to be known for at least three reasons. He (more or less accurately) described a type of ulcer which is nowadays referred to as Marjolin's ulcer (1828); he had the privilege of operating on the world-famous Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord for an anthrax (1838); and a rose has been named after him since 1860.
Subject(s)
Phrenology/history , Terminology as Topic , History, 18th Century , History, 19th Century , HumansSubject(s)
Migraine Disorders/history , Terminology as Topic , Adult , Animals , History, 18th Century , Humans , PomegranateSubject(s)
Cerebral Arteries/physiopathology , Moyamoya Disease/classification , Moyamoya Disease/history , Moyamoya Disease/physiopathology , Neurology/history , Terminology as Topic , History, 17th Century , History, 18th Century , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , HumansSubject(s)
Neurology , Tabes Dorsalis/history , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , Humans , Neurology/history , Terminology as TopicSubject(s)
Brain/physiology , Mythology , Sleep/physiology , Thalamus/physiology , History, 18th Century , Humans , MaleSubject(s)
Schizophrenia/history , Spirit Possession , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , Humans , PsychiatrySubject(s)
Anatomy/history , History, 18th Century , History, 19th Century , Humans , Mirror Neurons , Neuroanatomy/history , Septum PellucidumABSTRACT
Over a century after they were removed, at least officially, from anatomical terminology, eponyms remain an obviously controversial topic. In the first part of this paper we acted as their defense counsel, aiming to demonstrate that the 1895 first edition of the Nomina Anatomica and subsequently the Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FCAT) probably put the cart before the horse. However, their authors advanced arguments supporting their decision, and it is now time to develop these arguments. Let us now become the public prosecutor of eponyms.
Subject(s)
Anatomy/methods , Eponyms , Humans , TranslationsABSTRACT
The use of eponyms in medical sciences generally, and in anatomy specifically, remains controversial. In principle, this discussion should have been concluded as far back as 1895 (publication of the first Nomina anatomica): all eponyms should have been removed from the anatomical vocabulary then. In practice, what was believed to be a mere formality proved much more difficult to apply. Most eponyms remain in current use; moreover, their number goes on increasing. Assuming that there's no smoke without fire, we wondered why it seems impossible to get rid of a specific kind of term. The aim of this article and its successor is to weigh up the pros and cons.