Medical Terminology Daily (MTD) is a blog sponsored by Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc. as a service to the medical community. We post anatomical, medical or surgical terms, their meaning and usage, as well as biographical notes on anatomists, surgeons, and researchers through the ages. Be warned that some of the images used depict human anatomical specimens.

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A Moment in History

Larsen

William J. Larsen, PhD
(1942-2000)

An American scientist, Dr. Larsen was a gifted scientist, consistently producing research at the forefront of cell, developmental, and reproductive biology. Early in his career he published a landmark paper that conclusively established mitochondrial fission as the mechanism of mitochondrial biogenesis. He went on to become the first to demonstrate the endocytosis of gap junctions. Moreover, his work on the hormonal regulation of gap junction formation and growth culminated in an authoritative review article in Tissue and Cell, “Structural Diversity of Gap Junctions (1988)”, which became a citation classic.

Throughout his 25 year teaching career, his sixty-seven peer reviewed publications—not to mention numerous invited reviews, abstracts, and book chapters—covered a wide range of research areas including adrenal cortical tumor cells, human ovarian carcinomas, preterm labor, cumulus expansion, oocyte maturation, ovulation, folliculogenesis, and in-vitro fertilization.

In addition to his many contributions to basic research, Dr. Larsen loved to teach and was much appreciated by his students. His exceptional ability was reflected in the four teaching awards he received as a professor at the University of Cincinnati.

Notably, he was the author of Human Embryology, a textbook for medical students that was the first to incorporate modern experimental research into a subject that had traditionally been taught in a strictly descriptive style. On its initial publication in 1998 it was hailed as, “a magnificent book…” by the European Medical Journal. With the release of the fourth edition in 2008, the book was renamed “Larsen’s Human Embryology” in recognition of Dr. Larsen's place as the originator of this revolutionary text. This book is today in it's 6th Edition.

His stellar scientific career would be enough for most people, but Dr. Larsen pursued his numerous and varied interests with such extraordinary passion, energy, and skill that he seemed to have more hours in a day than the ordinary person. He was fascinated with the American Southwest and studied and collected traditional arts and crafts of the Hopi, Zuni, and Navajo peoples. He was a woodworker who built three harpsichords and a fortepiano for his wife, and, with his two children, over 100 pieces of gallery-quality furniture. In addition, he loved to regale his friends, colleagues, and students with jokes and stories, and to share his love for gourmet cooking.

The William J. Larsen Distinguished Lecture Series

An annual lecture series was created for the Department of Cancer & Cell Biology at the University of Cincinnati to honor Dr. Larsen's research which was at the forefront of cell developmental and reproductive biology. This series recognizes forward-thinking research scientists in the field of developmental biology and asks that they share their research and findings with students and faculty of the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine.

Personal note: I had the opportunity to meet and attend Dr. Larsen’s embryology lectures as he and I worked in the Anatomy, Embryology, and Histology program at the University of Cincinnati Medical College. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to have Dr. Larsen sign my personal copy of his book. He is sorely missed, Dr. Miranda

Sources:

1. "The William J. Larsen Distinguished Lecture Series" University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine.
2. https://www.larsenbooks.com
3. 2022 Larsen Lecture Series brochure (download here)
4. Dr. Larsen's family personal communications


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The lost influence of Andreas Vesalius on eponymic anatomy

Andreas Vesalius Bruxellensis (1515-1564) is considered to be the father of modern anatomy, remembered because an illustrious life and by his book “De Humani Corporis Fabrica, Libri Septem” published first in 1543. Scores of books, translations, articles, and analyzes of his work have been published in the over 500 years since his birth.

With such an incredible pedigree we would expect his name to be attached to more than a few anatomical structures, many of which were first described in his opus magnus, the “Fabrica”, I wonder why this is not so. It is true that modern anatomy is trying to move from eponyms to more descriptive anatomical terms. Still, there are many that will not go away, as is the famous ligament of Treitz, or the sphincter or Oddi.

Today there is only one recorded eponym for Andreas Vesalius, the os vesalianum, a rare accessory bone in the foot located proximally to the base of the fifth metatarsal. It is usually asymptomatic, but in rare cases it can cause pain. It is formed by the failed fusion of the secondary ossification center of the fifth metatarsal.

Reviewing history, I was able to find other references to Andreas Vesalius eponyms or potential eponyms, now in disuse or misnamed:

Andreas Vesalius Bruxellensis
Suspensory ligaments of the mammary gland. Although first described by Vesalius in the Fabrica, these structures are named after Sir Astley Paston Cooper (1768 -1841), almost 300 years after being described by the great anatomist, who called them a “fleshy membrane” that stretched between the pectoral fascia and the skin.

- The vermiform appendix. Although called by many just “the appendix”, this structure is mentioned, but not named, by Jacobo Berengario da Carpi in 1524. It was Andreas Vesalius who first described it as an appendix, suggested it looked like a worm (Lat: vermis) calling it the “vermiform appendix”.

- The ligamentum suspensorium Vesalii or crural arch. First described by Giovanni Baptista Morgagni (1682-1771), it was named in honor of Vesalius by Dr. Laurentii (Lorenz) Heisters in his “Compendium Anatomicum” published in 1756. Other authors point to Gabrielle Fallopius as the first to describe this structure in 1561, although he did publish later than Vesalius (1543). Although named after Vesalius, it was later named after Francois Poupart who described it in 1695. You probably know this structure as the inguinal ligament.

-The ligamentum teres femoris. The round ligament of the femur was also first described by Vesalius in 1543.

NOTE: If you have other structures that have been named after Vesalius, please let me know by clicking here.

Sources:
1. “A Rare Cause of Foot Pain with Golf Swing. Symptomatic Os Vesalianum Pedis—A Case Report” Petrera, M et al. Sports Health. 2013 Jul; 5(4): 357–359.
2. “Andreas Vesalius’ 500th Anniversary: First Description of the Mammary Suspensory Ligaments” Brinkman RJ, Hage, JJ. World J Surg (2016) 40:2144–2148
3. “Compendium Anatomicum” Heisters, L. 1756 (German)
4. “Anatomy: An Encyclopedic Reference to the Language of Anatomy and Neuroanatomy. It Provides the Fascinating Origin of Terms and Biographies of Anatomists/Physicians Who Originated Them” Bergman, RA, Afifi, AK 2016

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