Historical Eponyms

Question 1

Eustachian tube

Answer 1

a channel that establishes the connection between the nasopharynx and the tympanic cavity and serves to adjust the pressure in the cavity to external pressure; named after the Italian anatomist Eustachius

Question 2

Fallopian tube

Answer 2

a long, slender tube that extends fro the upper lateral cornu of the uterus to the region of the ovary of the same side; named after the Italian anatomist Fallopius

Question 3

Galen vein

Answer 3

either of the internal cerebreal veins or the great cerbreal vein; named after Galen, the ancient Greek physician

Question 4

islets of Langerhans

Answer 4

microscopic structures scattered throughout the pancreas and comprising its endocrine part; named after the 19th century German anatomist Paul Langerhans

Question 5

torcular Herophili

Answer 5

the confluence of the sinuses at the back of the skull; “wine cellar of Herophilus” the Greek doctor active in the 3rd century BC who was reputed to have been the first to perform dissection on human cadavers

Question 6

Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 6

a progerssive central neurodegenerative disorder marked by memory distrubance and personality changes, progressing to sever dementia; first described by German neurpathologist and psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer

Question 7

facies Hippocratica

Answer 7

a shrunken, pale aspect of the countenance immediately before death; so named because the description of this condition is found in Hippocrates writings

Question 8

Leishmaniasis

Answer 8

an infection caused by Leishmania, a parasitic protozoan of worldwide distribution, named after Scottish pathologist William Boog Leishman

Question 9

Listeriosis

Answer 9

an infection cause by Listeria monocytogenes a widespread pathogen in humans and animals; named after Joseph Lister who was known for his work in antisepsis

Question 10

Lou Gehrig’s disease

Answer 10

progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord; formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; named after Lou Gehrig, a professional baseball player who was diagnosed with the disease

Question 11

Parkinson’s disease

Answer 11

a chronic, progressive neurological disorder marked by tremors, muscle rigidity, and slowing of voluntary movement; named after James Parkinson, and English surgeon who first described the disease

Question 12

Rickettsiosis

Answer 12

a disease called by Rickettsia, a genus of bacteria transmitted frequently by ticks, fleas, and lice; named after American pathologsits Howard Taylor Ricketts

Question 13

Salmonellosis

Answer 13

an infection caused by the genus of bacteria known as Salmonella, which manifests itself most frequently in humans as food poisoining; named after American pathologist Daniel Elmer Salmon

Question 14

Caesarean sectionq

Answer 14

delivery of a child by incision through the walls of the abdomen when natural birth cannot take place; so called because it was thought that an ancestor of Julius Caesar was born in this way

Question 15

Heimlich maneuver

Answer 15

a method of dislodgin food or other material from the throat of a choking victim, effected by the sudden application of upward thrust into the abdomen between the navel and sternum; developed by American thoracic surgein Henry J Heimlich

Question 16

Pap smear

Answer 16

an exfoliative cytological staining procedure for detection and diagnosis of various conditions especially cancerous and pre cancerous growths in the female reproductive tract; named for the Greek anatomist Georgios Papanicolauo

Question 17

Tommy John Surgery

Answer 17

the surgical replacement of a portion of the ulnar collateral lgiament with a tendon from another part of the body, performed frequently on athletes; named after the professional baseball pitcher Tommy John, the first person to undergo this procedure.